Guide: The secrets to saving energy (and money) all year round
Saving energy and electricity has never been a bad idea and certainly not in times with fluctuating energy prices.
With higher energy prices there are lots of money to be saved on your electricity bill with some small changes, and of course, reducing your carbon footprint is always reason enough to save energy.
How to save energy the smart way
You probably already know the classic ways to save electricity, such as spending less time in the shower, washing your clothes at a lower temperature, and avoiding the tumble dryer. And these are all great.
But you can actually save power – and time – in lots of smart ways just by adding a few smart devices to your home.
All it takes is some devices, a smart home hub and a little time setting it up to your needs – and now you’re ready to reap the benefits (saving energy and money) all year round.
In this guide, you can discover the energy-saving benefits of smart plugs, smart cables, and smart relays; a smart hack for avoiding heat from escaping your home; and how to easily track your electricity consumption in real-time.
Smart plugs – remote control your electrical appliances
As electricity prices have gone up, smart plugs have been all the rage. And for good reason. Because these smart little fellas can really save you some energy (and money) over time.
The concept is simple: plug a smart plug into a power socket, then plug your electrical appliance into the smart plug, and voila – you can now control your electrical appliance from your smartphone.
This means that you can turn on or off any connected appliance at certain times by setting up automations on your phone. For instance, turning off all the lights when you leave in the morning.
Smart Plug Mini – electricity consumption tracker and remote switch in one
It gets even smarter with the frient Smart Plug Mini.
This device not only lets you control your electrical appliances remotely – it also lets you track their electricity consumption.
This way, you can always see how much power your appliances are using and have them turned off if they use too much, allowing you to lower your electricity bill.
The friently Smart Plug Mini also lets you automate your connected appliances, so you can have them turn on, for example, at a given time.
Avoid standby consumption with the Smart Plug Mini
Want to use power on appliances that are not in use? We didn’t think so.
Many of your appliances consume a low but noticeable amount of power on standby mode which can pile up over time.
But no worries – the Smart Plug Mini has you covered. When connected to a Smart Plug Mini, you can completely turn off your appliances (without having to go around unplugging things all the time), and you can even set up schedules to turn them off at times when they are not in use, for instance, during the night.
However, if you don’t want to turn off your appliance completely, you can still get some power-saving benefit from the Smart Plug Mini.
Because the Smart Plug Mini (and all the other frient smart home devices) are communicating via Zigbee – a wireless communication protocol consuming less power than, for example, WiFi – it’s designed to use minimal standby power.
Control and monitor your large electrical appliances
But what about the bigger electrical appliances connected to the grid, we hear you ask – can they be controlled?
Meet the friently Smart Cable.
With this frient, you can easily gain control of your large, grid-connected appliances – just connect a Smart Cable to the original cable of your electrical appliance, and you are good to go.
Now you can simply check your phone to see if your electric radiator, fan, or other electrical appliance has been left on running unintentionally, check how much power it’s using, and turn it off – all from your phone.
Smart relays – control groups of appliances from afar and save money
Smart relays are smart because they let you control appliances connected to your electrical circuit straight from your phone.
This way, you can easily turn on and off whole groups of appliances with the push of a button and save both electricity and money.
You can, for instance, turn off the heating and the lights while leaving other groups of appliances turned on, like your refrigerator and freezer, depending on electrical circuits of your home.
Control and track electricity consumption from appliances you normally wouldn’t be able to access
The Smart DIN Relay from frient has even more benefits than the usual smart relay.
Because with this frient, you can not only remote control your appliances connected to your electrical circuit but also track their electricity consumption making you more energy-aware.
See it as your little electricity spy that can give you the intel on how much electricity your kitchen appliances, heating, or your home office setup is using.
And by spying on your electricity consumption, this smart relay can also disclose abnormal behavior in your appliances such as a sudden spike in consumption that could be a sign of a defective appliance. Pretty convenient, right?
Stop the heat from escaping your home with a smart entry sensor
In the winter months, we naturally use more energy to warm up our houses – so airing out our home once in a while can quickly become a costly affair if we forget to close a window.
But don’t worry – we have a hack for you. The frient Entry Sensor Pro helps you avoid unnecessary heat loss. By mounting this smart device on your windows, you can get notified on your phone if you’ve forgotten to close one of them so you can act fast and close the window.
Just want to track your electricity consumption in real-time?
With the frient Electricity Meter Interface it has never been easier.
This frient is easily installed on your electricity meter and sends you meter readings directly on your phone or another device, so you can quickly become energy-aware and start lowering your consumption.
