Unless you go off-grid, power bills are an unavoidable necessity of life. So while you can’t escape having to pay bills, new technologies exist that will help you preserve energy and reduce the cost of those bills.
The below technologies can lower your energy usage and help make you familiar with your own energy consumption, which can help you make lifestyle changes that will further reduce the cost of your monthly power bill.
So explore these energy-saving options and try them out. Though there will be an upfront cost to them, they pay themselves back over time. And with energy prices only going up, that payback time is becoming shorter and shorter.
Thermal Leak Detectors
Using high technology sensors, this device calculates the temperature of the surfaces in your home and pinpoints any occurrence of thermal leaks. Since air leakage is the number one source of increased space heating and cooling costs, these devices can help to significantly reduce your power bills by telling you where your home is transferring heat. Armed with that knowledge you can seal the gaps in your home’s envelope.
In addition to lowering your energy costs through air sealing, using this type of device you can indirectly boost the lifespan of your AC or furnace because your HVAC system won’t have to work as hard.
Solar Panels
You can greatly reduce your power bills if you switch your home’s energy source to solar energy. When you have solar panels, your energy is technically free, and when you have a surplus, you can likely send it back to the grid for credit on your energy bills during months when you don’t quite meet your electricity needs.
With solar panels, you will only have to use your regular electricity as a backup when production is low, which goes a long way in reducing your power bills. So if you want to save some money every month you should get solar panels. It’s a big investment up front, but it’s an investment that pays off over time. Just look at your electricity bills to figure out the costs and you’ll see.
Dimmer And Motion Sensors
Dimmers and motion sensors can have a positive impact on your monthly power consumption. With a dimming switch, you can use less light when the bulb doesn’t need to be bright.
Motion sensors trigger lights to turn on as soon as someone enters a room and off when the person exits the room. Making use of a dimming lighting system and having auto-turn off in an empty room could significantly reduce your power usage as well as your power bill.
Smart Thermostats
Many people are guilty of leaving their thermostat at a fixed temperature all day. With an adjustable thermostat, you’ll be able to save money on your power bill by tweaking the thermostat to set back your HVAC system when you’re away. Some thermostats out there may be pricey, but it could be worth investing in if you have a manual thermostat and regularly forget to change it.
Smart thermostats are programmed to keep your home at a temperature of your choice. It turns itself off when the home is empty and displays its usage history. In addition, thermostats can be connected to WiFi and controlled over a mobile phone or laptop, so you can keep the heat down longer if you end up stuck at work.
Solar Enabled Smart Blind Kits
When connected to your smartphone, these smart blinds make it easy to manipulate using voice commands or button control. Having your shades activated while the sun is out can help keep your home cool in warm months while deactivating the shades in winter when the sun is out can warm up your home.
These kits have temperature sensors that can activate or deactivate the blinds when needed based on the home’s current temperature, or you can simply fix a schedule of your own. These kits are also solar enabled, so they don’t consume any power from your home.
Convertible Refrigerator/Freezer
With these appliances, you can choose whether you want them to be a refrigerator or a freezer, based on what you need. These appliances are designed for low energy consumption.
Large appliances like freezers are big power consumers because of their energy requirements and because they’re typically used all day every day, whether they’re full or not. With these models, you can use the freezer setting only when you need it. These units use less power than their alternatives, which will save you a reasonable amount of money on your monthly power bills.
Smart Sprinkler System
Do you make use of sprinklers to water your garden? If your sprinklers come on at automatic times every day, you might be watering to excess, and you might be losing a surprising amount of money.
Smart sprinklers contain sensors that figure out the soil’s humidity. If it’s still damp enough they tell the sprinkler to stay off, saving you loads of water, creating significant savings on your monthly water bills.
TED Energy Detectors
This device connects to your home’s electrical system, collecting your power usage data and helping you pinpoint the areas of your home that consume the most energy. With the vital information provided by this program, you can be more aware of the areas where you can improve energy efficiency. These devices can be set up for solar and wind installations, as well.
Power bills might never go away entirely, but new technologies are creating possibilities to reduce water and power costs.
Feature image: Tima Miroshnichenko; Image 1: Castorly Stock
