A recent survey found that while four out of five Canadians are aware of how smart home technology can make it easier to manage their energy consumption, only one in five have adopted these tools in their home. You can ask your contractor to elaborate on these four basic questions to help you better understand smart home technology.

What do smart home technology products do?
Smart appliances and fixtures are ones that can be controlled and monitored remotely and, through machine learning, will detect and adjust to your lifestyle automatically. This means you can turn the lights on or off from wherever you are, can check to make sure you didn’t leave the curling iron on or fridge door ajar and reduce energy consumption by shutting down items that aren’t in use.

Are they hard to use?
No need to feel intimidated. Most smart home appliances can be operated through their controls, via a separate keypad installed in the home or on an app. Once your contractor shows you how to install and use the app, you’ll be off and running.

What does a home energy monitor do?
A smart home monitoring system can help you keep tabs on your home 24/7. You can use Wi-Fi enabled switches like Square D and pair it with Wiser Energy, a home energy monitor, to receive custom notifications via your smartphone. This is great for homeowners who want to receive alerts about things like when your garage door opens, when your dryer turns off or if you leave a curling iron plugged in.

Are they expensive to install?
Like anything, it depends on your budget. You can buy a smart home monitor starting at a few hundred dollars, and a qualified electrician can install one in minutes. But many homeowners typically find they quickly recoup the cost of installing these systems with the energy savings they’re able to implement.

Find out more about how to conserve energy with a smart home monitor at se.com/ca/en