Few words today form such an indissoluble tandem as ‘energy expenditure’. The prices of electricity and an inflation scenario with no signs of slowing down mean that, in an energy-dependent country, our ability to save depends more on the inside than on the outside: that is, on ourselves.
The network of appliances and electrical systems in our home forms a spider web of consumption that, when transferred to the bill, for many is a real trap. But it is also the cornerstone to project a new level of energy savings. As?
The level of automation that our home offers is what is known as home automation, a set of technologies that we apply to the home not only to make it more comfortable, but also more efficient in its energy consumption. In short, smarter. Beyond comfort, access control (doors and windows) or security – the most popular in its beginnings – the control of air conditioning, ventilation, lighting and monitoring of consumption is gaining followers and there are more and more homes in which home automation is already ‘one more’ of the house.
As indicated in Cofidis, the savings no longer depend only on turning off the light, but on that light that remains on when it is not necessary or there is no one in that room, is not on, even if we do not remember to turn the switch. or we are not there. By automating consumption through home automation, we have more control over what we spend and prevent waste, something especially important at the threshold of an autumn that resists, but waits patiently around the corner.
Simple gestures, such as turning on the heating from your cell phone when you are about to get home or having the possibility of turning it off or lowering the thermostat from work in case you have been careless, make a big difference in the bill. Making that decision is no longer just a whim, but is synonymous with savings (and environmental awareness), especially when we discover that heating represents almost half of the energy we use.
Hence, the penetration of home automation continues to grow. Specifically, the global smart home devices market grew by 11.7% in 2021 with a double-digit growth forecast until 2026, according to a report by International Data Corporation (IDC). Although, driven by the pandemic, smart TVs and streaming players were in greater demand – 4.8% – in 2021, IDC estimates that smart lighting devices are the fastest growing category. Chance? Probably not.
When talking about home automation, we must keep in mind that not all solutions are equally urgent or essential. Its level of penetration depends on each family and the energy efficiency they want to aspire to. By choosing according to which devices we can go from a ‘manual’ home to one that is smarter and, consequently, more economical. There is something for all pockets and needs. The choice will also depend on where we want to intervene in consumption and improve energy savings ratios. These are some of the most requested:
That heating can account for up to 47% of a home’s energy consumption – according to data from the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving – gives us a slight idea of the extent to which the domestic economy begins with an efficient home that avoids waste. In this scenario, home automation is postulated as the guarantor of the common sense that any family needs in their consumption when energy prices seem to have lost it.