Combining green features and smart technology in eco friendly living homes

Written by: Emmanuel

By liking what we do and living our meaning, we're in harmony with everyone and everything. Emmanuel van der Meulen. CEO, Peace Evolution.

Published: December 31, 2023

More people are starting to express an interest in living in eco friendly homes. Once considered to be the preserve of the eco-conscious, more people are realising that green and eco friendly living has serious financial benefits. The same could be said about green smart home automation systems. Although they’re not common, as the technology develops, they are becoming more popular and have a number of benefits when used in green smart homes. In this article we’ll look at some of the ways green smart home technology is used in eco friendly living houses.

Green smart home automation for temperature control

The first thing to know about green smart homes is that they are properly insulated. Unlike traditional homes, green smart home developers understand that complete insulation makes it easier to manage the temperature inside the home. As the seasons change, eco friendly homes that are well-insulated are easily adjusted to the temperature fluctuations. Insulation inside the walls, the floor and the ceiling, combined with double-glazing, in the winter keeps warm air from escaping and cold air from entering, and in summer, prevents cold air from escaping and hot air from entering.

In addition to insulation, many green smart homes use a Hydronics Radiant heating and cooling system. This consists of a network of pipes connected to the hot water tank and the heat pump. Warm or cold water is pumped through the pipes to change the temperature in different rooms. It’s an energy-efficient system that provides consistent results. And has the ability to have different temperatures set for different rooms. That means concentrating on rooms which are occupied without using energy on rooms that aren’t occupied.

The pipes used in the Hydronics Radiant heating and cooling system are covered by a thick screed which acts as a conductor of the required temperature from the network of water pipes. The entire construction of the system is designed to be energy efficient. And this is only one area where green smart home automation increases the energy-efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the system.

Green smart home automation systems make use of apps that are accessible via a smartphone or computer: To monitor, manage and adjust the temperature settings for each area in the home. This green smart home automation system certainly is convenient to adjust the temperature, though it’s not the main thing about the smart technology.

The real advantage of the green smart home system lies in the amount of information it gathers regarding the heating and cooling energy consumption. At a glance it’s possible to know how much energy the system is using to maintain the required temperatures, and enables taking immediate steps to reduce the electricity consumption by adjusting the temperature by a degree this way or that way, without sacrificing comfort. Over time, patterns and trends are available to budget accordingly. Or, adding new technologies to further reduce power consumption and measuring their effectiveness.

The system enables supporting a number of handy home automation systems, and is used most effectively to maximise energy-efficiency in the areas that use the most power. Installing smart technology infrastructure enables the monitoring and managing of the home’s power consumption, and even to improve the energy-efficiency.

Green smart home automation for smart lighting solutions

A sensor in each room detects movement and automatically switches the lights on and off. While committed to greener and eco friendly living, this type of automation does make life more luxurious. When waking during the night no need to fumble for the light switch while on the way to the kitchen or bathroom. Who wouldn’t want to move about their home with lights turning on and off like magic?

Once again, the benefits of the system go far beyond making life more comfortable and convenient. Though lighting is one area that uses energy, it’s one of the modern conveniences that’s impossible to live without. And it’s one of the easiest places to save energy.

With a green smart home automation system, no need to remember switching lights off when leaving the room. The sensor responds to motion, and does it automatically. Even saving a small amount of energy by switching off the lights in unoccupied rooms saves money. And as the cost of electricity increases, so will the savings.

Once again, the power consumption is visible with the green smart home app. At any time, over days, weeks and months. This helps to budget for monthly running costs and enables bringing costs down. Green and eco friendly living is a balance between comfort, luxury, saving on running costs, lowering our carbon footprint, saving on resources, the environment and the planet.

Green smart home automation to monitor your heat pump

Heating the water for daily needs takes a significant amount of energy. Once again, eco friendly homes use energy-efficient heat pumps or solar water heaters to reduce the costs of heating water. Also available are linked-loop systems, so hot water is available within seconds of turning on a tap. It’s one of the ways green and eco friendly living is more luxurious than living in a traditional home. No need to wait for the water to heat up before stepping into the shower, or when washing hands in winter.

And that luxury all comes at a reduced cost. Heat pumps take the heat out of the air and use it to heat water using less electricity than a conventional geyser. In a green smart home the pipes are insulated which helps to maintain the temperature of the hot water [and cold water] and saves more electricity. As with any green smart home, every element has been designed to maximise energy-efficiency.

The power consumption of the heat pump is included in the data gathered by the green smart home automation system. Not only does this make it easier for homeowners to get a clear picture of their energy usage, it is possible to adjust the temperature of the water via the smartphone app or computer.

Turning down the temperature for the hot water tank, even by a few degrees, makes a big difference to the monthly electricity bill. It’s never been convenient to climb into your roof simply for the sake of turning down the thermostat. In a green smart home, everything is straightforward and easy to access, simply make the adjustment on the smartphone or computer.

And because it’s possible to monitor the effects of temperature changes, tweaking the temperature to find balance and efficiency is easy. Living greener and eco friendlier does not require giving up a comfortable lifestyle. In fact, it makes running a home easier, more cost-effective and even fun. Hot water is one of moderns life’s necessities, and now it’s possible to contain energy and costs. By combining green technology with green smart home automation, it easy to maximise the heat pump’s energy-efficiency.

Green smart home automation to monitor rainwater tank levels

Electricity isn’t the only precious resource used in our eco friendly homes. Water is essential for daily cooking, cleaning and bathing. Given our current drought situation, saving every drop is a habit we’ll all benefit from. That’s why many green smart homes include rainwater harvesting tanks. Collecting rainwater which is used for garden irrigation, flushing the toilets and for the washing machine is the ideal way to reduce the strain on the municipal water supply, oh, and our pockets.

In urban areas, most of the rainwater is lost. That’s why it makes sense to collect and store rainwater wherever possible. Rainwater tanks can be installed underground. This saves space and extends the lifespan of the tank as it’s not exposed to the elements. It also means that the system requires little maintenance. Yet more proof that green and eco friendly living is convenient.

The rainwater tank is connected to the municipal supply, so should the level in the tank be used to the lower threshold, the system automatically switches over to the municipal water. With new rains it automatically switches back to rainwater usage. One of the benefits of harvesting rainwater is that it reduces the monthly water bill. Monitoring the rainwater tank levels is useful. That’s why a sensor is installed in the rainwater tank, feeding information to the smart technology system. Once again, the level and water usage is accessible via the smartphone app and the computer.

This information is captured continuously to observe the levels over the course of days, weeks, months and years. This is where the real advantage of combining a green feature with green smart home technology really shows itself. This data makes it easy to identify patterns and trends. Although it’s difficult to predict rainfall, the data provides a clear picture of how much rainwater is used in and around the home over a period of time.

With this information it’s easy to budget accordingly, or take steps to reduce water usage. The more aware we are of how much water we use, the easier it becomes to find ways to reduce our consumption. And the added benefit of living in eco friendly homes is that savings are made without giving up the things that make modern living convenient.

Green smart homes are built to use resources such as power and water efficiently. All the green smart features that make these eco friendly homes efficient are monitored and managed by using green smart home technology. It’s not only because green smart home systems make it easier to adjust settings of the Hydronics Radiant heating and cooling system, or automating the lights to respond to motion. It’s because of the information you have available about the home without any extra effort, which in turn enables monitoring and managing such a home efficiently. 

Information is power and when serious about living green and eco friendly, it makes sense to investigate adding smart home automation to a green smart home. It allows you to maximise the energy-efficiency of the home and gather valuable information that helps refine every element of their green designs. It’s clear that green smart homes are setting the standard for future home developments.

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