One of the advantages of living in the time we do is the technology we have access to is far superior to any other time in history; the disadvantage is this often means we are paying a lot more for our electricity bills.
While there are what seems like thousands of different gadgets that can make our homes more accessible and ease the burdens we encounter in our day-to-day lives, these gadgets often cause a surge in our monthly electricity fees—while they streamline our lives, they negatively impact our wallets it seems.
Below is a list of devices that will make your life easier without increasing your electricity bill.
Belkin’s Conserve Socket
Most people plug in a device and don’t unplug it until they either decide to rearrange their furniture, or they decide to move.
However, what many people don’t realize is, when you plug something into an outlet, even when it’s turned off, it’s still drawing power—this means it can have an impact on your electricity bill even when not in use.
Now, rather than having to diligently go around your house unplugging devices that aren’t in use, you can simply plug them into the Belkin’s Conserve Socket instead.
Smart Sockets come with a timer that will shut off power flow to anything plugged into them after an interval of 30 minutes, three hours, or six hours, and all you have to do to start the timer is hit a button on the socket.
Nest Learning Thermostat
If you ever found yourself cold as a child, you may have attempted to take matters into your own hands and adjusted the thermostat, which may have driven your parents crazy for reasons that were a mystery to you.
However, as an adult you probably know why your parents didn’t want you playing with it—it’s expensive. According to the Department of Energy, a digital thermostat can help you shave up to 15 percent off your electricity bill.
This can be achieved by lowering the temperature of your house when you aren’t home—such as during the day when you’re at work, as well as at night when you’re sleeping.
The Nest thermostat can make this process easier—you can even set it to change temperatures at certain times (such as when you leave for work or go to bed), so you don’t have to think about it. And, it learns over time to adjust temperatures to best fit your preferences.
Lutron Motion Sensing Light Switches
Do you ever find yourself walking through the house only to find every single one of the lights are on? Whether it’s due to your own forgetfulness or perhaps the forgetfulness of someone you live with, leaving lights on when they’re not in use can drive up your electricity bill.
However, there’s a pretty easy solution for those who often forget to turn off the lights when they leave a room.
The Lutron motion sensor lights come on when you enter the room and go off when you leave, so you never have to worry about forgetting to flip the switch again.
