When we manage to reduce our electricity consumption in any way or to any degree, it benefits both our wallets and our planet. While technology is to blame for a lot of the environmental problems that are plaguing the environment at the moment, in the tech itself lies the solution to a lot of those problems as well. On that note, today we are going to take a look at three pieces of modern tech that we can all use in our homes to reduce the strain on Earth’s limited resources by making our own homes more power-efficient.
The Use of Smart Gadgets
The smart home is not just modern and cutting-edge, but it’s also a green home that maximizes technology to decrease electricity consumption. For example, take the smart thermostat, which turns the boiler on and off automatically, as well as regulates its heating to maintain a comfortable room temperature, reducing power consumption significantly in the process. These also can be pre-programmed to turn the heating completely off when the house is empty, such as during office hours.
Then there are smart lights that can be dimmed or brightened to adjust to the need of the hour. This allows for maximum utilization of natural light but also keeps the home well-lit throughout the day and night. A smart light with a light sensor is even more effective as it can sense the level of light available near it and adjusts accordingly on its own.
Installation of a Heat Recovery System
By now, it should have become a standard for every home in the United Kingdom, but sadly, there are still a lot of apartment buildings and private houses that have not installed a ventilation system to recover heat during the winter months.
Heat recovery and ventilation isn’t new technology by any means, but there have been multiple improvements in the last few years, refining the energy and heat efficiency of the ventilation systems to a great degree.
Shift to LED Lights
Even if you don’t shift to smart lights right away, at least make the shift to general LED lights. The difference in electricity bills might actually surprise you. But if you are, for some reason, still using incandescent bulbs, the reduction in power consumption will be nothing short of stunning at first.
In fact, if you have an ancient TV utilizing old CFL lighting still in the house, it is time to welcome an LED or OLED TV into your home to both improve your picture quality and, of course, reduce power consumption as well.