How to Decrease Your Electric Bill in the Hot Summer Months
And use smart devices to limit the amount of hot air entering your home
We are once again in the dog days of summer when even the squirrels in my yard are doing their best to come inside my house and get out of the heat.
While I have not figured out how to completely cover the cost of my electric bill with home automation, that hasn’t stopped me from trying.
Here are the top 4 tricks I use to keep air conditioning from draining my wallet while keeping my family comfortable.
Smart Thermostats & Scheduling
Get a smart thermostat and set it on a fairly granular schedule to be 1 to 2 degrees warmer than what you would typically set it to by hand. (Are you home on Saturday afternoons typically? If not, don’t cool your house!) If you don’t notice the change, don’t lower the settings! You can adjust as needed over the first few weeks.
Door Sensors
If you have kids or a spouse who never shuts doors, do yourself a favor and pick up some door sensors.
Using either the sensor’s own app or your home automation software of choice (Apple HomeKit, Google Home, IFTTT, etc.) set an alert that texts or sends you a notification when a door is left open for more than 5 minutes.
I personally use Abode’s [door and window sensors](https://goabode.com/product-category/door-window-sensors/) with their home security system and app, but if you want an option that works with an existing Thread router, I would suggest Aqara’s door & window sensors. (You probably have a Thread router such as an Apple TV, Amazon Echo, or Eero WiFi router. Full list here.)
So far I have stuck with just a phone notification, but I’m sure you could have all the speakers in the house play Nickelback if that would help incentivize your family to close the door more quickly.
Automate Your Fans
You don’t need an expensive new “smart” fan to automate airflow in your home. Grab a [SwitchBot bot](https://us.switch-bot.com/products/switchbot-bot) and create an automation in Apple HomeKit or Google Home to toggle the fan on and off based on the temperature from your thermostat.
Add Your Vacation to the Thermostat’s Schedule
If you’re going to be gone for a week, don’t keep the house at 68! The cats will survive a few extra degrees.
Most smart thermostats have a vacation schedule in the app. Ecobee will let you schedule vacations ahead of time in the app. Here are instructions on how to do something similar with a Nest thermostat.
Bump Up Your Thermostat
When you know no one will notice, bump your smart thermostat up a degree. Based on the schedule, the thermostat will move back down to its normal temperature later on. If you’re the last one leaving home or you know that room is going to be empty for the next hour, just increase the thermostat one or two degrees. Your wallet will thank you.
Products & Deals
Verizon’s offering the Disney bundle for $10/month to Fios Customers ($15/month savings)
In their ongoing quest to be your only monthly entertainment bill, Verizon’s offering Disney Plus with no ads paired with Hulu (with ads) & ESPN+ (with ads) for $10/month. That’s about $15/month less than you would pay with a Disney Plus Premium subscription directly from Disney. (I should note the extra $15 does include Hulu without ads.)
Lutron expands its Caseta Smart Switches with Improved Compatibility & New Colors
Lutron’s Caseta smart light switches are probably the best on the market. They don’t require a neutral wire and they’re very easy to set up once they’ve been installed. The new switches add support for ELV+ lighting and new colors to put them even further in front of the competition.
News
Andrej Karpathy, father of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving, Launches AI Education Company
It’s amazing to think about how our kids' education will differ from our own. [Khan Academy has already started trying to use large language models to help students learn at their own pace](https://khanmigo.ai/). I’m sure Karpathy’s work will go even further and push the boundaries of what is possible as he’s done in other arenas.
Whether you mostly remember your teachers working too fast or too slow, these personalized learning assistants will make learning far more engaging and productive.
Nintendo Announces NES SpeedRunning Collection
Here’s an opportunity to introduce your kids to all your favorite Nintendo games from childhood. The new Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition contains 150 challenges from across 13 different NES games including Super Mario Bros. 1 thru 3, Kirby’s Adventure, and Legend of Zelda.
Wired: Cutting-Edge Technology Could Massively Reduce the Amount of Energy Used for Air Conditioning
The device discussed in the article doesn’t actually cool the air. It just makes dry air available to air conditioners, making them a lot more efficient. I frankly don’t care how it works so long as it’s using less power!