Guest Post: How a Smart Home Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

As we strive to reduce our carbon footprints, many of us look to simple ways to improve our homes with slight energy efficient updates. While adding weatherstripping to those doors and windows and putting better insulation in your walls and attic can definitely decrease the amount of energy you use, and therefore your overall utility bills, there are a few leading innovations that can turn your energy efficient home to one of the leading green homes on the block.

When most people think of green homes, they think of homes built entirely out of recyclable materials complete with water recycling systems and rain collection barrels. While these homes are phenomenal in terms of their lack of carbon footprint, they aren’t always easy to construct in already developed suburban areas. But that doesn’t mean you have to forgo a home that has a lowered emissions and energy consumption. For those living in more developed areas, a few simple renovations and updates can turn their home into a smart home – saving them both energy consumption and money.

Vivint, as well as a few other competitors in the home monitoring industry, have recently started to construct home monitoring systems that do so much more than keep your home free of burglars. These companies have begun striving to create smart homes that will reduce a home’s carbon footprint as well as save the homeowner money on utilities.

These systems are much more evolved than simple Energy Star appliances. They basically serve as an alarm system that will also monitor your home’s thermostat. You can set it specifically to meet you and your home’s needs regardless of the weather conditions outside, so that your home is always at an energy saving temperature.

So not only does the Vivint system, and other like it, provide you with a discount on your homeowner’s insurance, but it will also help you save on your utility bills. Even better is that you can control these system remotely. So if the temperature that day got hotter or colder than you expected, then you can control your thermostat accordingly to keep your energy efficiency at optimum levels.

You can even control your home’s lighting with the feature so you don’t have to worry about leaving your lights on the entire time your gone to make it look like someone is home. Instead, you can save energy while also being safe by controlling the lights remotely and only turning them on when necessary.

So if you are looking for a great way to further reduce your home’s energy consumption, consider turning it into a smart home. Not only will the discounts and energy saving allow you to pay for the system itself, but it will make your home a much safer and more efficient place – two things any eco-conscious homeowner wants in their home.