{"id":19819,"date":"2021-12-15T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/?p=19819"},"modified":"2021-12-14T22:50:42","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T03:50:42","slug":"smart-home-technology-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/smart-home-technology-sustainability","title":{"rendered":"How Smart Home Technology Delivers Sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Smart technology has various benefits, and while many homeowners make their first smart technology purchase for convenience, many come to love them for their sustainability. A sustainable home is a more affordable home. It is also a better home for the environment and the people living there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Smart Technology Protects the Environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The answer lies in just how smart your home is. There is a difference between a \u201cconnected\u201d product and a \u201csmart\u201d one. A connected product may make your life easier, but it still requires you to be the one controlling it at the end of the day. A connected product doesn\u2019t think for itself, learn your behaviours, or detect your presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, a connected product might include an app that allows you to turn the lights off\u2014but a truly \u201csmart\u201d product will automatically learn your behaviours, detect occupancy, and shut the lights off on its own. You don\u2019t have to think about it, and it doesn\u2019t rely on you to maintain a level of efficiency. It works without you\u2014which is the essence of true smart home sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making a Smart Home Sustainable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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A few critical factors make a genuinely sustainable smart home\u2014the most important being electricity and water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electrically Efficient<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable smart home technology shines at saving electricity, and this may be the oldest way that smart home technology has been used for sustainability. Smart home technology helps you save electricity by detecting home occupants, learning your habits, and managing electricity usage according to those behaviours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0For example, suppose you have a smart thermostat. In that case, it can ensure that heat and air conditioning are only in use when you are home and automatically turn the system down when the house is empty, saving electricity and fuel. Most smart thermostats learn your habits and predict when to engage your heating and cooling so that you arrive just as your home\u2019s temperature reaches its optimal level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related content<\/p>

Is Smart Technology for Homes Worth the Investment?<\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\n\n\n

Smart home technology can reduce your electricity usage in other ways, too. For example, a smart home hub can be programmed to automatically open and close blinds and windows to maintain efficient temperature control depending on the elements and weather. In addition, it can detect when you are gone on a work trip or vacation and turn off any devices consuming standby power until you return home. Finally, if you have a solar power system installed, you may be able to program your system to use that power when other sources are at their most expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conserves Water<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you think of water-efficient devices, your first thought may be low-flow devices like showerheads and toilets. While these devices save you water, one of the most significant uses of water in a home doesn\u2019t come from functioning appliances; they come from leaks. Leaking water heaters and toilets can cause a dramatic spike in water consumption, and it is often impossible to diagnose until a high water bill arrives in the mail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, new intelligent water monitoring systems detect leaks in your home as soon as they occur, alerting you well before it becomes a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creates an Environment for Change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The final way smart home technology delivers sustainability is through data. Smart home devices are data-rich sources of information on your daily habits and how they can impact your home\u2019s energy and water use. For example, it’s easy to ignore the phantom draw the products we leave connected 24\/7. It feels pretty harmless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related content<\/p>

Everything You Need to Know About Moving with Smart Home Devices<\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\n\n\n

But when your smart home technology shows you how much power is being used\u2014and that you are therefore being charged for\u2014even when you\u2019re not using the item, you are more likely to turn it off. The data provided by smart home technology makes you aware of your carbon footprint. That awareness passively encourages behavioural changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devices with the Biggest Environmental Impact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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There are many smart products on the market, but only some directly increase sustainability. Here are the most important ones you can consider investing in for the biggest environmental return on investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart Water System<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

1 trillion gallons of water is wasted each year<\/a>, and this precious resource deserves to be conserved. As we mentioned above, leaks are a huge source of water waste\u2014a smart water system can prevent this from happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart Thermostats<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Smart thermostats tend to be one of the first upgrades people make because it saves money. Fortunately those cost savings also translate into a positive environmental impact. So you can save money and be more sustainable at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart Lighting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another easy fix that many initially use when testing smart home technology is smart lighting. Switching from outdated incandescent lightbulbs to energy-efficient LEDs uses less energy but requires less frequent replacement, reducing environmental waste. Pairing those light bulbs with a smart home hub ensures they are automatically turned off when the room is empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related content<\/p>

How to Confirm What Eco-Friendly Home Improvements are Worthwhile<\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\n\n\n

Smart home technology is an evolving industry, with new options (like smart water meters and leak detectors) entering the markerplace yearly. While some smart home technologies don\u2019t benefit the environment, others, like thermostats and light bulbs, can make your life more convenient, sustainable, and cost-effective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How smart home technology saves energy, water, and the environment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":19820,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"guide":[],"class_list":["post-19819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"acf":[],"zolo_excerpt":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19824,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19819\/revisions\/19824"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19819"},{"taxonomy":"guide","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/guide?post=19819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}