The Sustainability of Your Smart Home.
Considering the case where every device sips power when idle, how sustainable is a smart home really?
Smart Homes are often lauded for being eco-friendly and sustainable. In fact, it’s among the key points backing up the automation industry. One big point of a smart home is to allow you to use technology only as needed. With no wasted resources.
There certainly is truth to that. As per the estimates laid down by the US Department of Energy’s Energy Star program, smart lighting fixtures use about 90% less energy compared to traditional incandescent bulbs. Also, consider the fact that heating & cooling systems are among the largest energy expenses in any home. In such cases, smart thermostats head the table in energy savings. The US Department of Energy says a single smart thermostat alone could save 10% energy per year on heating and cooling.
But there is another side to this coin. With users investing on more and more smart devices for their homes, one rising concern is the power consumption of these devices themselves. What if the power usage and standby drain of smart devices negate any energy that they save?
The thing with power drains
Every one of your plugged-in devices sip power, constantly. Even when turned off. Think of it as a standby mode where the device is sitting ready for your next command. How many mobile chargers do we have plugged in all the time? Or a TV that’s almost never plugged out? This piles up quite an amount of energy every year. As per a study published by the NRDC on idle home loads, these “phantom” power loads often account for 20% of your total electricity usage.
And surely enough, smart devices are no exception. May it be your sensors, security devices, or home hubs, they all drain power when idle. And depending on the wireless protocol used, this consumption may be more or less. Wi-Fi devices, for instance, usually drain more than ZigBee devices do.
Efficiency standing tall
Be as it may, the fact that smart devices help save energy is undeniable. Even accounting for the idle power drain, most smart devices stand better than our conventional appliances. Take your TV and a smart plug, for instance. TVs typically consume about 12 watts per day when left on standby. Compared to which, a smart plug would only consume a maximum of 2 watts per day when left plugged in.
This gap can and must be used to our advantage. As long as users stay aware and put smart devices to proper use, a smart home can be made incredibly sustainable into the future.
3 ways to be smart about it
As mentioned above, idle power drains and high power usage are quite big concerns users have when it comes to the sustainability of their technologies. But with a teensy bit of awareness, smart devices can be made to work against this. If you own a smart home, here are 3 things you should try-
Smart Plugs
An ideal way to tackle standby power drains–is to get an extension and plug your devices into a smart plug. When you remotely turn off an appliance using a smart plug, it cuts off all power to the device–thus eliminating power drain. Albeit your smart plug may still drain power–but that is about 90% lesser than that of a typical power device.
Smart plugs also allow you to schedule your devices. May it be your TV, lights, or other electronic appliances, you can choose to power them up on set times; and automatically power off after a point. Your devices back home definitely need not be switched on and sipping power the entire time.
Smart Lighting
This is another neat solution that’s big for reducing energy usage. Your lights can be programmed to turn on only when you’re around and automatically turn off when you’re away. And some Touch Panels or Dimmer modules also provide dimming controls–for you to tone down any extra brightness you don’t need. As small as this may seem, every bit of wasted energy adds up over time and torrents into a huge amount. It’s better avoided.
Smart Thermostats
Heating and cooling systems generally take up the biggest chunk of energy in a house. So if you have a goal to make your house sustainable, a smart thermostat will be worth its penny. A temperature sensor, for instance, can monitor the condition in your place and regulate the thermal systems to work only as needed. This often cuts down a significant amount from your bills.
Closing thoughts
One thing is for certain. The issue of power consumption in a smart home needs to be discussed more. Because while home automation thrives on being sustainable, a bit of it will also come down to users making the right calls. If allowed to, your home can take care of itself and keep doing so well into the future.
A smart home can be as smart as you want it to.
Ajith Nair- February 13, 2023
Updated: February 13, 2023
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