lifestyle
Technology
5 ways to make Your Household Smarter It’s not just ‘Home, sweet home’ anymore: these days it’s also ‘Home, smart home’. More and more people are making use of technology to set up ‘smart homes’ where the heating, lighting and other appliances can be controlled using internet-connected devices and smartphones. In fact, over two million Brits are now making use of gadgets to organise their home more efficiently and conveniently. Here, with the help of Northern Powergrid, we explore five ways you can smarten up your home, this year and beyond.
1. Choose a smart system Some smart devices can be controlled without a hub these days, but smart systems are convenient because they serve as a central hub for every device throughout your home. Smart systems make your life simple. With this, you can control everything from your lightbulbs to your thermostat with ease. You can set timers and establish a routine, whether this is running a bath after work or locking your doors at night, and you can control it all from an app on your phone.
2. Home security tech Smart security systems are a great way to fortify your home with technology. This can be something as small as a doorbell camera or as complex as an alarm system. There are multiple benefits to having a smart security system within your home. In fact, installing a smart system can reduce home insurance costs by 13% and, according to a survey by Co-Op, 89% of burglars in the UK admitted that they would be deterred by a smart home.
3. Utilise smart boilers & meters As well as feeling safe and secure, being toasty and warm is another way to guarantee you will have the best night’s sleep. A smart meter will let you control the temperature throughout your home at the click of a button, they’re also very simple to use and can be controlled through a mobile app.
4. Electric vehicle charging Electric cars are the future. They replace the need for crude oil, from petrol to diesel, and lower the amount of carbon we emit into the atmosphere. To encourage more people to drive electric cars, a further 145,000 electric vehicle charging points have been installed across the nation. Also, all newly built homes will be required to have an electric vehicle charging port as of this year, so EV charger installation will become more common than we now know.
5. Experiment with other smart devices There are many more smart devices that assist homeowners with their day-to-day lives, including a smart fridge. These can keep your veggies chilled while tracking their expiry dates. And why stop there? Smart vacuums operate independently, cleaning the surfaces throughout your home with ease; smart lights can be turned on remotely and even set on a timer; smart plugs replace the need for any faulty switches. Don’t even get us started on smart rings or smart egg trays. These are some of the ways you can smarten up your home. Which gadgets are you excited to try?
Are friends electric? Electric cars are the future – and they’re the present too. The Department for Transport has reported that there are now more than a quarter of a million EVs using UK roads while sales of plug-in vehicles have reached all-time highs, with 327,000 registered in 2021 – a 77% rise on 2020. And to keep these cars on the road, the Department has revealed that almost 600 new public chargepoints are being installed each month, with the expectation that there will be 300,000 of them by 2030. That’s equivalent to almost five times the number of fuel pumps currently available to drivers.
34 Life in... BROMLEY August 2022
2030 could be a big year for cleaner, greener driving. The government is committed to phasing out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by that date, to continue cleaning up the country’s air. Last year CO2 emissions from cars decreased by 11% and the hope is that this trend will continue.
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