Afraid of expensive ancillary costs? Smart home technology helps you save

Consumer advocates warn of an expensive winter. As soon as the temperatures drop close to zero, the worry about the billing arises – no wonder, after all, prices for electricity, oil and gas were hardly ever higher than they are now. Smart home facilities help save money – and a few good old tricks that everyone should know.

Electricity, gas, heating oil – the energy prices are climbing to unimagined heights this year – and winter is approaching. So it is no wonder that consumers are worried about the annual billing for the coming year. Those who rely on heating oil are already paying horrendous prices. It is not easy for anyone who wants to save in this situation. However, equipment for the smart home can help.

Smart Home: Smart thermostats help save money

Smart thermostats help with heating costs. Even conventional rotary controls often heat automatically according to the central heating setting, but are less flexible. The big advantage of smart thermostats: They can often also be Control via app while on the go. For example, you can preheat certain rooms before heading home after work.

The individual thermostats are controlled via a smart home center. You can often use this to schedule the heating – all via the app. When you have found your personal comfort temperatures for the individual rooms, you need each other afterwards only take care of the heating in exceptional cases.

The important thing is: Either you decide for this when you buy it for the first time System from one manufacturer or you should pay attention to compatibility. Not every producer uses the same standard for his system.

However, if you don’t have any smart home equipment yet, you have to first take the money in hand. It can normally take a few years for this to pay off. In the youngest Thermostat test from 2019 Stiftung Warentest expects the investments to pay off after five to six years.

With the current sharp rise in energy prices, however, things could go faster. That also depends on whether you basic heating rules have already applied. Who else always heats up against permanently open windows, can of course save a lot more.

Correct heating is what counts

How much you heat probably has the greatest influence on the amount of your utility bills in winter. It doesn’t always have to be warm in summer in every room. Rooms that you spend a lot of time in, such as living rooms or study, should be the warmest in the house or apartment. The kitchen and bathroom as well as the bedroom can easily be less heated.

But: Too little heating can backfire. It can be more expensive for you to fully heat up a cold room instead of keeping a lower but sufficient temperature permanently.

There are a few tips that can save you money: Radiators should be properly vented so that they work efficiently. If you can hear a gurgling sound in the pipes when heating, there is usually too much air in the heating water circuit. Radiators should also be used whenever possible not be covered by curtains or furniture and kept clean. Corresponding brushes can be found online or in the household department of larger supermarkets.

Attention also applies to ventilation: Open or leaky windows or doors are of course poison for heating costs. That is why: Either heat or ventilate. Ideally, several times a day by ventilating for about 5 minutes with the window wide open, for fresh air. Meanwhile you turn off the heaters. In heated rooms, the windows should not be tilted for a long time.

Saving electricity in everyday life

Nowadays, smart electrical devices can often be programmed. For example, you can shut down your router overnight to save some electricity. Use power strips with switches or attachments for your socket so that standby devices do not constantly draw electricity unnecessarily. Smart sockets can also be integrated into the home system.

Ikea also has its own smart home range ready. What the products can do is very much yours Video:

With some individual devices, you can reduce energy consumption with just a few settings. The classic: Adjusts the refrigerator temperature. By default, many devices cool down to 4 ° C. Even at 5 or 6 ° C, however, many foods will last long enough and you will save a few euros over the year.

Dishwashers, washing machines and dryers are also part of the power guzzler repertoire in most households. Support modern devices Save with an eco mode. It is specially designed to conserve resources.

Electricity tariffs: if you don’t compare, you lose

Saving electricity can of course help keep costs in check. Unnecessarily used energy should always be kept low. But that is decisive Choosing the right provider and tariff. The situation is not exactly easy at the moment, as prices are rising across the industry.

The local basic supplier, usually one of the more expensive variants, may currently be the better choice, because there is usually a longer fixed price than with discount providers. As always, consumers should compare offersto find the individually suitable tariff. You can find out what to look out for in our article.