What is a "Smart Home?"

A smart home is any system that can repeat processes based on a set of pre-defined expectations. If that sounds too Jargon-y, it’s simply a system that completes tasks automatically. Think, lights that automatically turn on at a certain time, or a heater system that turns on just before you come home. This branch of home appliance technology has improved quite radically just in the past 3 years. From thermostats that know when your cell phone is close, to lights that come on when you enter a room. There are even systems now that can not only detect when you are home, but also can determine wither or not the electric grid is being widely used. Essentially, appliances that know when it’s greener to use them, and when it’s not. These devices are called “Demand Response” as they know when there is heavy demand on the grid.

Smart appliances can save large percentages of your energy use simply by only using the systems when they are really needed, and not using them when they are not. I recently installed a Smart Thermostat into my Dad’s house, and he reduced his overall energy costs by almost 15%. Over time, these devices end up paying for themselves and also offer up some novel concepts. Like my Dad for example, since he also uses an Amazon Echo, he can verbally say “Turn down the temperature” and the Echo will relay that information over to the smart thermostat and it will turn down the dial. The Same goes for his home lighting, vocally dimming, changing color or switching on and off lights in the various rooms of his house. It may sound like overkill at first, but if you remember that the whole point of these devices is to conserve energy, these “extras” are just a fun way to expand on your homes systems.