Looking for clever, simple ways to make a dent in your energy bill? Smart devices can make it effortless to turn off electronics or lights that aren’t in use, control your home’s temperature, and more. Here are a few options that can help you save.



Motion Sensors / Motion Detector Lights


Hello, darkness, my old friend. Motion sensors, or occupancy sensors, let you know when someone enters a room and automatically turns on the lights. Other equipment, like fans, can be programmed to turn off when no one is around, or power on when you walk in a room. This way, you don’t have to remember to turn out the lights, and you’re never paying to light an empty room.


Smart Bulbs


Please dim the lights. Lightbulbs are way smarter than they used to be. Now, it’s easy to find bulbs that you can control with just a few taps from your smartphone, tablet – or even from your smartwatch, fitness tracker or virtual assistant. You can also lower the lights or power them off from the comfort of your bed. No more crawling out of bed.


Smart Air Filters


Filth alert! Dirty air filters make your heating and cooling system work harder, which in turn raises your energy usage, so you need to change them often. New smart filters are equipped with technology that sends a message to your phone when air flow isn’t working, letting you know when to make the switch. You can even connect them to an app that automatically orders your new filters when the old ones are ready for a change.


Smart Plugs


You weren’t using that, were you? Smart plugs can be automated to turn your electronics off and on whenever you’d like, or you can use a mobile device to control the plugs remotely. This can help you save by automatically turning off appliances like your TV and cable box when you aren’t home, since these electronics keep using energy when they’re in standby mode.


Smart Thermostats


Who’s ready to turn up the heat? With a smart thermostat, you can control the temperature in your home from anywhere, using your smartphone or any other device connected to the internet. Some smart thermostats can also detect whether anyone is home and adjust the temperature accordingly, so you aren’t paying to heat or cool an empty house.


You can also schedule your smart thermostat to reach different temperatures at certain times of day. Or, as you make manual adjustments, the thermostat can learn your behavior and start automatically setting temperatures according to your preferences.


Well, isn’t that smart?