There are a number of important steps that you can take. One of the best things that you can do is invest in smart home systems that reduce energy use, lower water waste and minimize the unnecessary consumption of natural resources.

Smart Home Devices Can Go a Long Way Towards Making Your Home More Environmentally Friendly

Whether this is a good or a bad thing, people have become very dependent on technology. For example, can you even imagine spending a day without a phone? No matter what challenges you are facing, taking advantage of a number of cutting-edge devices can significantly improve our quality of life.

Technology doesn’t just make our own lives better. It also helps lower our carbon footprint and leads to other changes to help the planet.

High-tech appliances can now be found in any home and eco-friendly homeowners are investing in them more than ever. There used to be a misconception that technology was bad for the planet, because it uses energy. However, used properly, technology can improve energy efficiency and lower your carbon footprint.

However, installing them can be a bit tricky. Some processes are not as straightforward as performing water softener plumbing or changing shingles.

In this article, we will review 7 must-have devices for a smart home.

1. Water monitor to reduce water waste

The EPA reports that US citizens waste 10,000 gallons of water every year. Not only does the waste affect your budget, but it also causes a negative environmental impact.

In fact, one of the priorities of smart homes is to be more energy-efficient, thus saving money and the planet. A water monitor can be a great addition for eco-friendly homeowners. It will both reduce energy usage and water waste.

You can install a water monitor by hooking it up to the pipes. The system relies on ultrasonic sensors to find leaks. This particular device is not that hard to install; the whole process only takes several minutes. You can get the analysis through the phone app, receiving alerts whenever something’s wrong.

2. Smart thermostat to lower energy use

Having a smart thermostat can significantly reduce utility expenses. Similar to water monitors, they rely on sophisticated sensory to detect any form of activity within the household. In other words, the system will heat certain areas according to the presence of humans. So, you will no longer have to waste money heating empty rooms. This will in turn lower your carbon footprint as well.

Among others, the homeowners can set up the maximum temperature according to their liking. The system can be managed either from a phone app or the device itself.

3. Advanced doorbells to create an eco-friendly home security plan

We previously talked about the benefits of having an eco-friendly security system. Smart doorbells are a great add-on. They are energy efficient and great at bolstering security at the same time!

In the last few years, package stealing has become a major problem in the US. Even if we disregard this social issue, you always want to know if there’s someone in front of your doors. With smart doorbells, you can do just that.

These devices have a microphone and camera and will send a real-time video to your phone app. Even if you’re not close to your home, you will still receive the feed. Some of the advanced versions can even record a picture whenever someone rings the bell. That way, you will always know if one of the neighbors came by.

One of the reasons smart doorbells with digital surveillance is better for the environment is that they don’t rely on analog cameras. Digital cameras are much better for the planet, because they use less energy than their analog counterparts.

Lastly, smart doorbells have facial recognition technology allowing the app to memorize homeowners and everyone else who regularly visits the house.

4. Smart speakers to minimize energy waste from traditional speakers

There are so many different ways you can utilize smart speakers. In fact, they are one of the first smart home devices on the market. The introduction of Alexa in 2014 completely changed how we perceive these devices.

Not only can you use smart speakers for listening to audiobooks and your favorite music, but you can also connect them to other pieces of equipment. For example, they can be utilized as your digital diary and planner. Of course, a lot of people use them to quickly find answers to certain questions without having to google stuff.

Again, these speakers are better for the environment, because they rely on digital, rather than analog technology.

5. Sophisticated lighting to reduce energy waste further

Smart lighting is another way to save money and preserve the environment. With just one click of a button, you can control this feature from anywhere in your home. Alternatively, if you have the right equipment, you can even adjust the settings with your voice.

Whenever you go outside, the lights will shut down automatically. This is a neat feature, which is particularly great for people who regularly forget to turn their lights off. Alternatively, you can purposely turn them on while on vacation to prevent potential burglaries.

6. Smart control plugs

This is a similar device to our previous entry. Whenever you exit the home, smart control plugs will turn off any appliance that is still running. So, if you forget to turn off the stove, you don’t have to worry about fire accidents. You can also set timers to save energy and lower your carbon footprint.

The homeowner can also turn off the lights from a distance. Those who have a lot of appliances can buy a power strip as a method of saving money. Among others, this device can monitor energy consumption per outlet.

7. Air conditioning unit

Smart air conditioning units work similarly to smart thermostats. Although very new to the market, the homeowners have quickly embraced them.

Like most of these devices, you can control the unit from a phone app. Advanced products can be combined with other smart systems, and you can also manage air conditioning in different rooms.

Why are smart air conditioners better for the planet? Since you can cool down the rooms you are using, you will use less energy than if you were trying to cool the entire home.

The post 7 Exceptional Smart Home Devices that Are Great for the Planet appeared first on Green Building Insider.

Here are six examples:

1. Doha, Qatar

Developers in Doha want to make the city’s downtown district one of the greenest and most connected in the world. To do so, they’ve focused on a 35-hectare section in which all the buildings are LEED-certified at the Gold or Platinum level. Plus, solar arrays on the rooftops generate energy, and underground roadways for passenger cars and service vehicles help keep the streets clear and encourage people to get around on foot.

The city’s developers claim Doha has the highest concentration of sustainable buildings that are wholly integrated into the smart city’s infrastructure. That’s because they evaluated both the smart and sustainable elements together instead of treating them as separate entities.

The Lusail Iconic Stadium is a highlight of smart innovations in Doha, and preparations are underway for championship-level soccer matches commencing there in 2022. Solar power-generating parking lots and state-of-the-art green cooling technologies are among the venue’s perks.

2. Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm is another city leading the way in both smart city advancements and sustainability. And, it’s taking a broad approach to make its gains, which involves optimizing both the city’s utilities and transportation.

For example, by installing sensors on utility supplies, the city has reduced heating and hot water consumption levels by 20%. Much of its improvement-based work involves retrofitting residential and commercial buildings with better insulation and adaptive control systems.

Plus, thanks to a central energy control center that gives energy and waste production data to customers upon requests, household members or business owners can get real-time updates on how their metrics change over time. This technology gives them the tools needed to make positive changes.

Another way Stockholm is working towards becoming the world’s smartest city by 2040 is by enhancing transportation. For example, the city has installed motion-sensitive LED lights on bike paths and connected lights to parking garages that tell people how many spots remain inside.

3. Boston, Massachusetts

One of the priorities of Boston’s city planners is to create apps that allow citizens to be better involved by checking things like street conditions or their parking status. The city also holds frequent public forums about topics such as artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous vehicles. That way, residents become more connected with the developments happening around them and feel that they have a stronger voice when giving input.

And, sustainability plays a prominent role in the planned $70 million renovations of the City Hall. Some of the features include numerous green spaces made better with the planting of 100 new trees, the installation of new LED lights and permeable pavement that soaks up stormwater during severe weather.

Boston officials are also involved in the Vision Zero Project, which seeks to end severe and fatal traffic crashes. An assortment of sensors will collect data from a designated intersection to get more details about how people use the area’s roads.

4. Boulder, Colorado

Many people already view Boulder as a forward-thinking place, especially since it’s earning a reputation as a tech hub. In 2018, the city was chosen as one of 22 destinations taking part in a program to investigate transportation options for smart cities. The year-long opportunity consisted of several interactive workshops and meetings with industry experts — all meant to help the participating cities develop smarter transportation solutions.

It’s easy to see how the results of such expertise could bring about smarter, greener transportation in Boulder. And, the city has other green initiatives underway.

For example, researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder published work that evaluated how to optimize operations for smart cities that use renewable energy. While those scientists didn’t restrict their suggestions to Boulder, their advice could easily be applied there.

5. Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town stands out as one of the smartest cities in Africa, and one of the ways it does so is by its dependence on Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. In 2016, the destination was tapped as one of the leading places in the world implementing the IoT.

For example, it has drastically cut down on gun crime by implementing a relevant IoT firearm shot detection system.

Further, a connected travel information system gives motorists updated alerts about traffic conditions. From the sustainability side of things, architects incorporated eco-friendliness inside Harbour Arch, a multipurpose area within Cape Town’s Central Business District. It includes a green rooftop visible from the city’s waterside area. City planners are also investigating ways to collect greywater and rainwater for water conservation purposes.

6. Chicago, Illinois

In April 2019, Chicago’s city council members unanimously committed to using 100% renewable energy by 2035, making it the largest U.S. city yet to do so. Also, the council wishes to have the city’s bus fleets completely electrified by 2040. A dedicated sustainability team will develop a transition plan for helping the city reach the renewable energy goal and will release it for review by December 2020.

Part of Chicago’s smart city plan involves installing 500 sensors to measure everything from the sound levels to the amount of water in gutters or pooled on the streets. It’s helpful that the people aiding in Chicago’s smart city efforts have support at the federal and national level, both in terms of government funding and input from tech companies.

Also, a 12-week “Hacking House” collaborative recently launched in Chicago. It aims to bring people together to investigate how to apply IoT technologies to smart city initiatives. Thanks to this effort, Chicago’s smart city momentum seems set to continue — and there’s a good chance some of the projects that come about could facilitate sustainability, too.

Smart Cities and Sustainability — a Sensible Pairing

While it’s impossible to include every sustainable smart city on one list, the places offered here give an exciting snapshot of what’s happening in smart cities around the world.

If such places succeed, more will likely follow their lead and look for ways to simultaneously become smarter and greener.

The post The 6 Greenest Smart Cities in the World appeared first on Green Building Insider.

However, as anyone committed to helping the environment might wonder: Are smart home devices green? Do they do anything to reduce our load on the environment? Can you build a smart home that enhances your sustainable efforts?

The answers to these questions, thankfully, are: yes, yes and yes. Read on for more information about why smart homes might be the best solution for sustainable homes and how you can use them to your advantage today.

Smart Homes Boast More Efficient Resource Usage

You raise your thermostat a few degrees in the summer and lower it down a few degrees in the winter, but can you be sure your HVAC is operating optimally any season? What about lights — you want them on when you come home at night, but you don’t want to waste energy by leaving them on for hours in the interim. What is a sustainability-minded homeowner to do?

For both these situations and others, smart home systems come through with the solution. Because smart tools allow more effective monitoring of use and energy consumption, they help you use the right amount of energy when you need to — and eliminate wasteful energy use altogether. From anywhere in the world, you can control your thermostat, your lights and a handful of other major energy consumers around your home, so you can be certain you aren’t sucking up more resources than you need to stay safe and comfortable.

Still, not all smart home tools are essential to reducing your environmental impact. Here are the top gadgets you need in your smart home system to improve your resource efficiency:

Thermostat. HVAC systems are the energy-hungriest features of your home, so controlling them precisely at all times is critical for sustainability and optimal energy use. A smart thermostat is easy to install and use and provides noticeable effects on your energy bill.

Lighting. Replacing your halogen lightbulbs with LEDs is a good first step to cutting your energy bill, but by using smart LEDs, you can turn your lights off and on from anywhere. That means you don’t need to leave your lights on in case you return home after dark; you can flick them on just beforehand to reduce energy use.

Window treatments. When the sun sets through your western windows in the summer, your house heats up, increasing the load on your HVAC. Thus, you should have smart window treatments that know to block out the sun at certain times of day — or that you can raise or lower through your smart home system.

Irrigation. It’s easy to focus on your energy bill at the expense of your water usage. You should invest in a smart irrigation system, so you know your plants are getting exactly what they need — and not a drop more.

You Can Start Building a Smart Home in a Few Easy Steps

While you should consider gathering all these smart home gadgets, doing so out of order could negatively impact how they function, meaning your home won’t be as conveniently green as you might have hoped. Fortunately, it isn’t difficult to build an optimal smart home once you know the correct first steps. Here’s a short-but-sweet guide to making a functional, sustainable smart home.

Choose Your Smart Assistant

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Your smart assistant will be how you communicate with all the smart gadgets around your home. Choosing your assistant is an important first step because you will accumulate smart tools according to the assistant you choose. Thus, you need to be certain you have the best home assistant for you. As of this writing, there are three major options: Siri from Apple, Alexa from Amazon and Google… from Google. If you are already comfortable using one over the others — say, you have an Apple phone or a Google computer — you might want to stick with that one.

Research Smart Devices

Next, you should begin looking into the smart devices on offer. Your first goal should be to verify that certain devices integrate with the assistant you chose. Next, you should compare and contrast the features available on similar devices as well as their price points. Finally, you should understand each gadget’s warranty and perhaps invest in additional protection to ensure you enjoy high-quality service for years to come.

Use Your Smart Devices

Most important of all, you must be willing and able to use your smart home system — otherwise, your home will remain as wasteful and inefficient as ever. Fortunately, smart home devices tend to be intuitive and convenient, meaning you are more likely to play around with them and optimize your environment in the process.

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