Learn How Smart Home Automation Helps You Save Energy and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

You may have heard how smart tech and automation can make your home more accessible, comfortable and convenient—but did you know smart technology can also make your home more energy-efficient? Smart home technology systems like automated window treatments, lighting control, and climate control help you take a proactive approach to home energy management. Along the way, you’ll lower your carbon footprint and save money on utility bills. 

Keep reading to learn how to use smart home technology to optimize energy efficiency in Minnetonka, Orono, and beyond.

SEE ALSO: 3 Reasons Why Smart Window Treatments Are Worth the Investment

Harness Natural Light & Reduce Energy Waste with Automated Blinds & Shades

Motorized window treatments do more than just add style to your home—they play a key role in energy conservation by regulating heat, insulation, and natural lighting.

• Heat Control: The sun’s heat streaming through windows can drive up indoor temperatures fast. According to the EPA, approximately 76% of sunlight that falls on windows enters the home to become heat. When heat gain occurs, your HVAC system must expend a lot of electricity to cool your home back down. With automated shades, you can schedule them to close during peak hours, preventing excess heat gain and reducing cooling costs.
• Insulation: During the summer and winter, sealed shades trap cool or warm air inside and prevent it from escaping out the windows. With better insulation, your home’s HVAC system doesn’t have to work as hard to regulate the indoor climate. 
• Lighting Integration: Integrate your shades with a lighting control system to raise the shades and dim or turn off the lights on bright, sunny days. Adding natural light to the mix reduces your use of artificial lighting when it’s not necessary.

Lower Energy Bills with Home Lighting Control

Lighting is one of the biggest contributors to home energy waste, but a smart lighting control system helps you use only the light you need when you need it—without lifting a finger.

• Automated Lighting Schedules: Schedules can help make sure lights aren’t on when they don’t need to be. For example, you can schedule all interior lights to turn off every morning at 7:15 a.m., 15 minutes after you leave the house for work.
• Dimmers: Not every task requires 100% brightness from your lighting fixtures. With smart, dimmable bulbs, you can adjust the brightness to a comfortable level for specific activities like reading, cooking, watching TV, or working in the home office. Dimming conserves energy and expands the lifespan of your bulbs. 
• Occupancy Sensors: At some point, we’ve all been that person who leaves a room and forgets to turn the light off behind them. Occupancy sensors can automatically turn off lights in unoccupied rooms and reduce your home’s lighting waste.

Smart Climate Control: A Better Way to Manage Home Energy

A smart climate control system that adapts to your daily routines and preferences ensures that your home is always at a comfortable temperature and humidity level. Climate control helps your home’s HVAC system operate more efficiently.

• Temperature Regulation: A smart thermostat monitors your home environment and makes automatic adjustments to regulate indoor temperatures and humidity levels based on the outdoor temperature and your personal preferences. 
• Energy-saving Mode: When you leave home, your thermostat can power down into energy-saving mode. That way, you’re not wasting energy running the HVAC system at full blast in an empty house. 
• Shading Integration: Climate control and motorized shading work together to maintain indoor temperatures. When your home gets too hot, your shades can lower automatically to block excess heat, reducing strain on your HVAC system.

Take Home Energy Management to the Next Level with Savant Power

While climate control and lighting automation help reduce energy waste, Savant Power takes energy management systems further by giving you complete control over your home’s power consumption. This advanced system monitors, stores, and distributes energy throughout your home, reducing grid dependence and optimizing efficiency.

• Real-Time Energy Insights: Track energy consumption through a personalized dashboard and make informed adjustments.
• Smart Power Distribution: Automatically prioritize essential devices and appliances during power outages.
• Seamless Integration: Works with your existing smart home system to enhance automation and efficiency.
• Renewable Energy Optimization: Store excess solar energy to reduce reliance on the grid and maximize savings.
• EV Charging Efficiency: Integrates with Savant’s Level 2 EV Charger to schedule charging during off-peak hours, reducing electricity costs.

By integrating Savant Power with your smart home system, you can maximize energy efficiency, lower energy bills, and ensure your home stays powered—even during outages.

Upgrade Your Smart Home Energy Management

Let’s make your Minnetonka, MN, home a cleaner, greener place to live! At ResTech Systems, we specialize in smart home energy management solutions that fit your lifestyle. Whether you're looking to automate your lighting, climate control, or shading, we’ll help you create a more energy-efficient home.

Call us today or fill out our contact form to learn how we can bring smart energy management to your home in Orono, Minnetonka, and beyond.