Using smart technology to save on utility bills
There are heaps of smart gadgets that will help you keep your power bills down as energy consumption goes up as winter nears.
3 mins average read time
What do you picture when people talk about smart homes? Perhaps you envision something futuristic. A home with robot butlers, conveyor belts that deliver sweet treats and closets that select your outfit for you. But the truth is, you’re probably living in a smart home right now.
Your smartphone, smart TV, Amazon Alexa, home security systems… all of these are what make your home smart. And any time you bring a new smart device into your home, you’re making it that much more intelligent.
But the more devices you have, the more bandwidth you’re going to need to make them all work together seamlessly. A smart home should enable all your everyday activities without interruption and without being too expensive.
So in this blog, we explain how you can make your smart home work efficiently today, tomorrow and well into the future. Want to find out what broadband options are available for your home? Head to our Broadband Checker here.
Over the next few years, we’re going to see more and more smart devices designed to make our daily lives just that little bit easier. They’ll work with one another to help you around the house. Your Fitbit will talk to your bathroom scales, which will talk to your fridge - and together, that data will remind you that you haven’t been hitting your daily step count... so you probably shouldn’t restock on ice cream.
This smart home will be able to shut off your heat pump and turn on your lights, all while you’re out of town. Your smart home will have your back - it’ll make sure you’re using energy efficiently so you can better manage your utilities bills. This communication between devices is made possible by the internet - but typically the more connected devices you have in your home the more data you use. If this isn’t properly managed, you might find that your broadband speed will slow down – or that your bills will go up.
Luckily, optimising your home for smart technology doesn’t have to be complex or expensive. First things first, it’s worth considering how much data all of your smart devices need to operate. The average home with multiple devices uses as much as 100GB per month, or even more during busy periods like school holidays when there’s usually more online content being downloaded. The best way to account for fluctuations in data usage, as well as high levels of data consumption, is to go for an unlimited broadband plan. This will mean that no matter how much you use your smart devices or appliances – or how much Netflix you or the kids watch – you’ll never find yourself running out, or paying for extra data that you didn’t realise you were using. To make sure your home is fully optimised for all the smart technology you may have now or in the future, also ask your provider for the fastest fibre broadband plan.. Fibre is free to install, with the fastest plans only slightly more than standard fibre and it will mean no matter how heavy your usage, you won’t ever have to worry about slow speeds or issues when multiple devices are accessing the internet at once.
The result? One great broadband connection that can support your entire smart home. Are you on the smartest connection for your smart home? Head to the Chorus Broadband Checker to find out what broadband options are available at your address. Then you can get set up with an unlimited, fastest fibre plan. That way, you’ll be prepared for whatever the future holds - even those robot butlers.
Your new iPhone 11 won't be able to take advantage of all the wifi 6 has to offer unless your router also supports the new technology, so consider upgrading your router first.
There are heaps of smart gadgets that will help you keep your power bills down as energy consumption goes up as winter nears.
The concept of a smart home is evolving, away from high-tech gadgetry towards connected sensing devices that make our homes better to live in.
Smart devices as they’re known aren’t particularly new now and are simply wifi connected versions of common household appliances or fixtures.