Ways Smart Home Tech Can Help Reduce Your Electricity Bills

Do you ever feel like you’re paying too much for your utility bills? You’re not the only one. According to Statistics Canada, the average Canadian household spends just over?$400 each month?on things like electricity and heating. That’s close to $5,000 each year!?

The worst part is it’s easy to be highly wasteful with utilities. From leaving lights and other appliances on when they’re not in use, to set the thermostat higher than it needs to be, small actions add up to serious dollars and cents over time.?

Smart home tech isn't just for convenience and entertainment. It can also help you save money on your electricity bills.

Here are five ways smart home tech can cut down on your power usage:

Smart thermostats

Smart thermostats like the Nest Learning Thermostat learn your habits and adjust accordingly. They can also be controlled remotely from your smartphone, so if the house is empty during the day, you don't have to heat or cool it unnecessarily.

Smart light bulbs

Smart light bulbs like the Philips Hue and LIFX can be programmed to turn off automatically when no one is in a room or when no one is home. You could also use them with motion sensors that turn lights on when someone walks into a room and off when they leave.

Smart plugs

Smart plugs can be used with any appliance — including ones that aren't connected to Wi-Fi — to control when they're turned on and off remotely. For example, you could set your coffee maker to brew before you get up in the morning so it's ready when you need it or set your air conditioner to turn off automatically when you leave work at 5 p.m., whether it's summer or winter outside!

Solar-Powered Battery Pack

A solar-powered battery pack is one of the easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint and save money on your electric bill. These devices store energy from the sun during the day so that you can use them at night when the sun isn't shining. You can also use them to store excess energy from other sources (like wind or hydroelectric power) so that you don't have to sell it back to the grid at a loss.

Power-Efficient Laptop

If you're looking for an easy way to reduce your electricity consumption in one fell swoop, consider upgrading to a power-efficient laptop instead of using a desktop computer. Laptops tend to use less electricity than desktops because they don't have as many components inside them and because they don't require as much cooling.