Save Water, Conserve Energy and Reduce Your Bills with This Earth-Friendly Technology
Going green is becoming increasingly popular as we become more aware of the impact of our everyday lives on the environment. The average American has a carbon footprint exceeding 20 tons; sends 64 tons of waste into a landfill; and uses nearly two million gallons of water over his or her lifetime!
Minimizing waste and reducing our carbon footprint is something we can all do to protect our environment. And manufacturers are responding with innovative technologies and devices to help us do just that. In celebration of Earth Day, here are five must-have green gadgets for the savvy, earth-conscious homeowner:
Smart Thermostat — Did you know your thermostat controls half of your energy bill? Smart thermostats, like Nest, are gradually replacing traditional thermostats and are popular for their ability to help homeowners save as much as 10 to 15 percent on heating and cooling annually. Nest’s Learning Thermostat automatically adjusts the temp inside your home based on the temperature and humidity outside. Smart thermostats can also be set to adjust temperatures depending on the time of day and whether you’re home or away. These eco-conscious thermostats can be controlled from an app on your phone, and depending on the brand may even sync with your home automation system to allow convenient, hands-free control.
WeMo Switch Smart Plug — Eliminate wasteful power usage with this smart plug that allows you to turn lamps, electronics and appliances on and off through the app on your phone. Sync lights in your home to sunrise or sunset or create schedules from your phone. The WeMo Switch also works with Nest Thermostat so it knows when you’re home or away. With WeMo, you can also look at your energy usage trends to help you identify changes you can make to save more energy. As a bonus, WeMo works with Amazon’s Alexa for voice control.
Motion Sensor Light Control — Are you guilty of leaving the lights on when you leave the home? It happens to all of us, but there’s no question doing so is a waste of electricity. The Philips Hue Motion Sensor turns lights on and off based on motion in the room. Pair it with Philips Hue lights and control your lights via Wi-Fi with artistic colors. If you don’t already have Hue lights, you’ll need a Philips Hue Starter Kit to get started. The Hue Motion Sensor can be voice controlled with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit.
Smart Irrigation System — Outdoor water usage in the United States averages more than nine billion gallons of water a day, and most of that is for landscape irrigation. Inefficiencies in traditional irrigation systems results in massive amounts of water wasted each day. If water really is our most precious resource, shouldn’t we be doing all we can to conserve it? Smart irrigation systems, like the Blossom 7 Smart Watering Controller are cost-effective designed to eliminate waste by monitoring weather, soil conditions, evaporations and even water use of an individual plant in order to adjust the watering schedule and amount to the conditions. No more watering your lawn on a rainy day; a smart irrigation system is the way to if you want to do your part to conserve water. Depending on where you live, you may even be exempt from local watering restrictions if you install a smart irrigation system at your home.
At-Home Composter — Composting is a great idea in theory, but how many of us can actually commit to composting our food scraps to eliminate waste? The Zera Food Recycler, is smart at-home composter that uses technology to break down food scraps into a ready-to-use fertilizer in as little as 24 hours and operates automatically or can be controlled by the app. The Zera is a sleek, easy solution to help you reduce food waste by as much as two-thirds. Zera, developed by W Labs, a Whirlpool incubator that works to develop new gadgets for the home, has been fully funded on Indiegogo and is currently in the prototype stage.
Owning your home gives you more control over the energy used by your home. Are you ready to take control and start reducing your carbon footprint in your own home? Contact PrimeLending today to speak with a home loan expert who can get you started on the road to homeownership.
