Inflation: it causes the cost of our daily lives to skyrocket. Fortunately, it is quite accessible to transform your home into a Smart Home. By means of a number of accessible apps and devices you reduce costs with a snap. For example, by saving energy. WANT editor Dennis tells you all about it!
After corona (and the war in Ukraine) we are in a recession. Costs are skyrocketing; so are heating costs and even a loaf of bread, a vegetable or a piece of meat in the supermarket. So we have to watch our wallets. These tips for your home will at least help you spend less money on energy.
Helpful gadgets if you want to keep your energy bills in check
Sure, the weather is nice and you may be spending more money. But with these tech tips, you can justify that amount because you’ll save quite a bit of money on your (probably already expensive) energy bill.
#1 Smart thermostat
The smart thermostat, like a Nest for example, knows when you are at home. In addition, you can use an app to specify how hot or cold you want the house to be, even if you’re not there yet.
Of course, what it gets you depends on the size of your house and the current temperatures.
Perhaps the smartest thermostat yet (Image: Google)
#2 Smart plugs control your energy
How many devices are plugged in and on standby in your home? Perhaps too many to mention. With so-called ‘smart plugs’ you push that back. They even come with an app that shows you which devices are on, and you can turn them off remotely thanks to an app. This will save you a lot of money because of your power-hungry gadgets that are not doing anything anyway.
Everything on or off via the app (Image: Hoftronic)
#3 Water
With this weather, it may be obvious that your water usage is causing your monthly costs to shoot through the ceiling. But there are apps and shower heads that tell you how much water you are actually using. Trust us: just running your water to get cold water when you’re thirsty will quickly cost you a gallon or ten; an expensive joke.
If you shower at 40C you’re kind of weird (Image: Waterhawk)
#4 Food waste
Smart refrigerators have also come a long way with regard to energy. They know when you have purchased your products and it indicates when something is spoiling.
More importantly; it also tells you what’s in your fridge, so you don’t do unnecessary shopping. Thanks to this technology, an app can even tell you what you need and it will be delivered by a supermarket through an app.
Good way to know there’s not enough cold pizza in your fridge (Image: Samsung)
#5 Solar energy
With this weather, this goes without saying: take as much “free” solar energy as you can. If you have a roof where panels fit, you will save hundreds of euros per year. According to Milieu Centraal, a Dutch household consumes an average of 3,300 kWh of electricity.
If you have enough panels, for example ten, then you ‘get’ about 2430 kWh per year. If you have any ‘surplus’ power: you can sell the power you generate back to the grid if you don’t use it yourself. That is called balancing. At the end of the year, this is offset against the power that you have used.
The sun offers it for free (Image: Unsplash/Vivint Solar)
In other words, through handy gadgets and good thinking, your energy bill will be significantly lower. Of course, you have to invest in it for a while, but it pays for itself within a few years.
