Smart switches have a lots of benefits beyond just the convenience of turning off and on from an app. For one, they offer reports about how much energy has been used in a certain time frame. If you’re following carbon footprint goals or trying to limit your personal contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, this can make a big difference to how you spend your money!
Smart switches also have safety benefits. Most of them are now equipped with a motion detector, which automatically turns off the switch when you exit a room. The benefit is not an all-or-nothing one: there’s no risk of burning down the house because the power was left on when you left it!
One downside is that smart switches can be a bit too smart. When I first began using one, I set it up so that it would turn off on its own after about 1 minute if I wasn’t in the room while it was on. This had the effect of turning my thermostat off every time I walked through my living room, and then turning it back on again when I started doing something else.
If you’re only using a smart switch with motion sensor, you may want to consider setting it up with an occupancy schedule so that it’s only active when you’re in the room for it. It will save energy and money, and protect your house from fires.
The smart switch app is also really useful if you have a vacation home or a rental. Since you don’t have access to the physical switches there, installing a few smart switches can go a long way. You can monitor how much energy is being used while nobody is home and tweak the settings accordingly.
As far as the cost of smart switches goes, it varies. If you have to buy them from scratch, they’re about $40 or $50 each. On the other hand, if your home is built within the last few decades and already has smart home features, there may be some installed that you can just re-purpose. However, you can cut price of these awesome smart switches by checking this link
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