The world is going “smart” crazy. Wherever you look, there’s a smart version of everything. Some of the smart devices are mere gimmicks, and they never truly bring anything beneficial to the table. Nonetheless, you’re beginning to see a host of smart products with legitimate advantages in your life. 

Most notably, we’re talking about smart home devices. Plenty of these exist, but did you know that the right ones can help you save thousands of dollars a year? A lot of the savings relate to the energy costs in your home, but they also have a few additional benefits to be aware of. 

What is a smart home device?

A smart home is defined as a setup including multiple appliances and devices that are connected via the internet and can be controlled from anywhere in the world. Therefore, a smart device is simply one of the many things included in this setup. It can be a small gadget, a huge appliance, or even a robot vacuum cleaner. 

The key feature of a smart home device is that it must be connected to part of your home and controlled remotely. You should also be able to program it so it can complete certain functions without constant input. 

The best smart home devices to help you save money

Okay, the description of smart home devices is a tad broad. Anything can fall into this category, but which ones are worth buying? Some devices will cost close to a thousand dollars yet bring nothing productive in return. Try to avoid these! Instead, opt for any of these smart home devices, as they’ll help you save a ton of money over time: 

Smart thermostat/smart electric heater

These two devices have been grouped as they serve a similar purpose. A smart thermostat connects to your main heating and cooling system, helping you control everything. You can program the thermostat to turn the heating/cooling on at specific times, adjust the temperature from your phone, or manually turn things off/on when you’re out of the house. 

They’re highly effective - but not everyone can have one. If you live in an apartment or any type of rented accommodation, your landlord won’t always let you install one of these devices as it has to be integrated into the existing heating/cooling system. In that case, an electric heater with thermostat functions is the best alternative. You get all the same functions as a smart thermostat but on a device that can be moved around. Electric heaters are also more efficient at heating smaller spaces, which can save upwards of 10% on your overall heating bill. 

And that’s effectively where the savings from both of these devices come from. They’ll give you more control over your energy usage at home, slashing heating costs by some margin. The ability to set very specific temperatures and to put your heating on a timer makes a world of difference. In theory, you will never “waste” energy heating your home, which makes your house far more efficient! 

Smart bulbs

The humble light bulb seemed like one of the best inventions ever back in 1879. To be fair, it survived many centuries without any extreme changes! However, traditional lights are no longer the best thing to have in your home; smart bulbs are taking over. 

These bulbs come with two main benefits over traditional light bulbs. For starters, they’re all made with LED lights, which will naturally save way more money than incandescent ones. Research shows an LED bulb will use around 75% less energy than the average “traditional” light bulb. 

Already, this saves loads of money over the years, but a smart bulb takes it to new levels. These devices connect to the internet and come with companion apps. You can also connect them to things like Apple Home or your Alexa devices. From here, you can do all sorts of things to control energy usage and avoid wasting electricity, such as:

• Dimming your lights to use up less energy

• Putting timers on your lights so they turn off when you don’t use them

• Activating the lights using motion, meaning they’re only in use when someone moves

Ideas like these make every penny count, so your lights never drain your electricity bill. You also get the benefit of seeing if your lights are on when you’re out of the house. Turn them off while you’re at work so you never deal with those annoying situations when a light is left on all day. 

Smart plugs

Smart plugs offer another excellent way of saving money on living expenses. As with all smart devices, these connect to the internet and give you more control than ever before. The cool thing about a smart plug is that it turns almost anything in your home into a smart device! You can turn things on or off from anywhere - or you can program timers to ensure certain things are only turned on at specific periods. 

Simply insert your smart plug into a socket and then plug anything into it. The companion app will let you monitor energy usage and also lets you switch the devices off completely when they’re not in use. You may not realize this, but some electronic devices will slowly use electricity even while in standby mode. Televisions are the biggest culprits of this, so being able to turn them off fully saves loads of electricity per year.

Much like a smart bulb, a smart plug ensures you never accidentally leave anything on. Monitor your entire home system and turn everything off when you’re out of the house (apart from obvious things like your fridge/freezer), and you will save an unbelievable amount of money. 

Smart washers

A smart washer might be the best invention for modern homeowners. You need to wash your clothes, but washers use up lots of electricity AND water. A smart version of this device tackles both problems without you needing to do anything. 

Smart washers will come with apps so you can monitor them and do all the usual smart home stuff, but they’re slightly more autonomous than everything else. The big feature of these devices is the AI technology built into them. When you load your machine, it detects the optimal cycle based on the weight of every load. It’ll pick a setting to ensure your clothes are cleaned, yet it avoids wasting unnecessary energy. 

These machines also avoid using too much water, which will save a fortune on your water bills throughout the device’s lifetime. Some of the smartest devices can be programmed to turn on during off-peak energy hours as well. This adds to even more savings as the off-peak hours usually cost less money. 

Smart refrigerators

This smart device is likely the most contentious on the list. Why? Because a lot of smart refrigerators fall into the category of “pointlessly expensive smart devices”. They look cool and have plenty of unique features, but they never actually save money. That’s why you must do a lot of research to find the best smart refrigerators with a specific emphasis on ones boasting these features: 

• Smart temperature control

• Built-in camera

• Connection to your power grid

Why are these features important? Smart temperature control uses sensors to monitor what’s in your fridge and adjust the temperature accordingly. It will mean your refrigerator doesn’t excessively cool items unless necessary - and it can use more or less energy depending on how full it is. You can also control the temperature yourself via the app, which will sometimes provide you with an ideal range. As such, selecting the temperature that uses the least energy will save money while preserving your food. 

Speaking of which, that’s another benefit of smart temperature controls. Keeping everything at the ideal temperature can preserve food for longer, helping you reduce food waste and stop spending excess money on food every week. 

A built-in camera also works wonders for temperature regulation. Did you know that your fridge constantly has to work to regulate its temperature when you open the door to look inside? With a camera, you’ll see what’s in your fridge without needing to open it. It should reduce the number of times you open it per day as you don’t need to check if you have something. This maintains a steadier temperature with less energy demands. 

Finally, smart refrigerators that connect to your power grid can use technology to figure out how to be more energy efficient. Much like a smart washer, it knows when the off-peak times are and can use more energy during these periods and less during peak times. Therefore, you spend a lot less money on electricity for this device, making it a great addition to your kitchen. 

By all means, some smart home devices are a waste of money and completely gimmicky. However, the ones in this post can help you save a lot of money on utility bills across a year. Multiply these savings throughout the device’s lifespan, and you will likely save thousands of dollars. It’s a fun and modern solution to keeping your daily running costs as low as possible while adding in some new practical elements to your home.