Sustainable living is a topic that is growing in importance for a lot of homeowners. Part of the reason for the increase in popularity of sustainable living could be due to the increase in popularity of “smart homes.”

If you are unfamiliar with smart homes, they are simply homes that have smart appliances and systems installed to make living a little easier on the humans inside. These smart systems are extremely beneficial to have and are often also environmentally friendly which is another perk! Today we’ll share a few tips to help you make your home more sustainable and probably a little smarter in the process. 

Before explaining how you can conserve resources to make your home more sustainable, it is important to explain what exactly a smart home is. A lot of people get confused between a smart home and a connected home.

If you were to implement a few of the tips we will share below and you do not have the inner-workings of a smart home system installed, your home would count as a “connected” home. Smart homes, on the other hand, have an underlying system that actually gets to know the habits of the people that live in the home. 

Specifically, a smart home can determine what is “normal” or “abnormal” behavior for the home and make changes to the devices in the home accordingly.

An easy way to tell the difference between a smart home and a connected home is to think of a smart home as having a command center that controls all of the systems in the house (and sometimes outside of the house too). 

Conserve Resources

Specifically, think about installing a smart showerhead which can connect to your phone to give you alerts when you’ve used a certain amount of water. This can make it easier for you to resist the urge to spend an hour in the shower. 

Showerheads

This probably seems like something you’ve heard since you were a child and your parent told you to turn the water off when you were brushing your teeth. While these little changes are still important, today we’re thinking on a bigger scale.

Irrigation System

On an even larger scale, if you have a yard irrigation system, think about investing in a smart irrigation system to cut back on the use of water for your lawn. This is the perfect solution because you won’t have to worry about having a brown yard and you can conserve water at the same time! 

Geothermal Pump

If you want to think even bigger, a geothermal pump may be what you are looking for. Geothermal pumps use anywhere from 25-50% less energy than electric systems. Plus, you won’t have to worry about an external air conditioning unit which can cause excess amounts of air pollution. 
( Learn more here: https://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/fun-at-home/news/a9243/sustainable-environmentally-friendly-smart-house/) 

Thermostat

Another easy way to conserve resources is to incorporate a smart thermostat in your home. Smart thermostats learn your living habits and will adjust the temperature to save energy at convenient times. If a smart thermostat is not in your budget, some normal thermostats have the option to set an “away” setting so that you are not heating or cooling your house in excess amounts while you are away at work. These types of energy efficient appliances will also provide great benefits for your wallet in the long run because you will be saving money on both your heating and cooling bills! 

Connected Home

If a smart home does not appear to fit into your budget, you can always start with a connected home by purchasing one or a few items at a time. Taking this approach is a great way to see if you like the idea of a smart home without making the complete switch. Plus, you will be able to observe the differences in energy conservation that these products offer. 

In the end, smart homes conserve energy and promote stability by automating some of the simpler processes in the home such as heating, cooling, and electricity with the help of energy efficient appliances. You can customize the amount of “smartness” in your home and thus the amount of energy conserved. Be warned, once you take the plunge into the world of connected and smart homes and see the sustainability benefits, you may never want to unplug!