While living your life green is the ultimate mean of achieving a truly eco-friendly lifestyle, this kind of self-restraint and awareness can be incredibly hard to achieve in the real world. This is why you should never shy away from looking up to technology for help. In fact, there is currently a plethora of gadgets, devices and tech-trends out there that can make your home much greener with a lot less effort. With this in mind and without further ado, here are five must-have gadgets for an eco-friendly home in 2018.
1. Smart thermostat
When we talk about the power consumption in our homes, one of the greatest culprits is always our home’s thermometer. Of course, living in a cold home during the winter is out of the question but how much of that heat is actually going to waste? Sure, through insulation and double-glazing windows, you can drastically reduce the amount of heat leaving your home but how about leaving the thermometer on while you’re away?
Think about the scenario where you’re back from work only to walk into a cold household. It might take dozens of minutes until the place is warm enough but what are your alternatives? Should you turn your thermostat on as soon as you leave the place in the morning and heat your empty home for 8 to 10 hours? Luckily, with a smart thermostat, you can control the heating system of your home remotely and even set it up to react to the location of the GPS on your phone.
2. Solar-powered water heater
Speaking of green living, a lot of people turn towards solar panels as a solution. Unfortunately, for solar panels to fully pay themselves off, it might take somewhere between 7 and 20 years. Needless to say, this is a massive investment not a lot of people would feel comfortable undertaking. On the other hand, a solar-powered water heater can pay itself off in as little as two years. In other words, it is a safer, smaller step in the right direction.
3. Full home automation
In the introduction, we mentioned the fact that living a healthy lifestyle is an effort-intensive endeavor. This is exactly why so many people, although willing, often fail at it. On the other hand, some CBus installers offer a package of services that would eventually lead to a full automation of your home. This is one of those rare opportunities in life where doing the right thing is both easier and cheaper in the long run. In simple terms, this means no more letting the lights run because you are too lazy to reach the switch.
4. Wi-Fi sprinkler system
When it comes to green living, electricity is not the only resource your home is wasting massively on a monthly basis. People who have a lawn on their property know exactly just how water-consuming this can be. However, with the right Wi-Fi sprinkler system on your side, you can easily cut your irrigation system’s water consumption several times over. Not only that but your plants might get to see the results of having a smarter, better-programmed irrigation pattern. According to some estimates, you can save about a third on your water bill by employing a Wi-Fi governed sprinkler system.
5. Solar recharging kit
In 2018, there is virtually no household without a computer and at least several mobile devices. Now, while charging these items may not seem like too much of an expense, over the course of the year, this difference may become more than noticeable. Luckily, by purchasing a simple device such as a solar recharging kit, you can easily handle these minor power-hungry tasks in a much more efficient manner.
At the end of the day, by implementing these several trends, devices and gadgets into your household, you will make a major improvement on two fronts. First, you will greatly diminish the carbon footprint and the environmental impact of your household and second, you will drastically cut your monthly utility bills.
Apart from these two major boons, there may be a third, hidden improvement you might have failed to consider. You see, going green may have an impact on your self-image, seeing as how, by living in an eco-friendly manner, you will gain the right to say that you are a part of the solution and not the problem. Overall, a clear and undeniable win-win-win scenario, one of the few there are.