How Much Money Does a Smart Home Actually Save?

What if your home could be programmed to save you money every chance it got?

Energy saving smart devices are no longer a thing of the future. The recent eruption of smart home technology has given us everything from smart lights that turn off automatically to smart power strips that can “unplug” devices not in use.

Smart home technology marries two popular topics of the moment: green technology and the internet of things.

There are several smart home devices that are popular today and known to save energy. We examined claims made by several popular device manufacturers and crunched the numbers to find out, on average, what each device should save a homeowner per year.

Your Home’s Energy Usage

The average home in the United States spends around $3,052 per year on utilities. Knowing what parts of your home use (and waste) the most energy can help you cut costs by investing in smart home technology.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 42 percent of the average home’s energy is used heating a space; another 18 percent is used heating water. Refrigeration, cooling and lighting each account for 5 percent of the average home’s energy usage. (24 percent of a home’s energy is unaccounted for in their study).

Smart Home Technology That Can Save You Money

To find out the average breakeven price, we averaged the prices of the three most popular products to determine the average price for the device. Our methodologies for each device are listed below.

Methodology:

Smart Shower: The Evadrop shower head claims to save up to 50% of your water. The Nest cites the average water consumption for a family of four at 100 gallons per day, which can cost as low as $34 per month in Phoenix and as high a $65 per month in Boston. 50 percent of the average of those two numbers puts the average savings from using a smart shower at $22 per year.

The most popular smart showers are the KOHLER Moxie Showerhead ($66), the Spa Living Bluetooth Shower Head ($20) and the WaterHawk ($90).

Smart Thermostats: A Nest Thermostat ($249) claims to save 10 percent to 12 percent on heating and 15 percent on cooling each ear. The Ecobee4 ($249) claims to save up to 23 percent in heating and cooling and the Honeywell Lyric T6 ($200) didn’t say.

We went with a conservative 15 percent energy savings. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the average U.S. household spends about $3,052 per year on utilities with about 48 percent of that being heating and cooling. This equals $1,464 a year spent on heating and cooling. 15 percent of that number puts us at $219 saved per year.

Occupation Detectors and Motion Sensors: Energy.gov reports that using new lighting technologies can reduce lighting energy use in your home by 50 percent to 75 percent. If lighting energy is 11 percent of the average home’s energy budget and the average home spends $3,052 per year, then $355 a year is spent on lighting. 50 percent of that number is $167.

The top occupation detectors/motion sensors are The Samsung SmartThings Motion Sensor ($39.99), the Ecobee Room Sensors ($79) and the Insteon Motion Sensor II ($39.99).

Smart Power Strips: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory reports that using a smart power strip can save you an average of $200 a year. The most popular smart power strips are the Iron-M 4-Outlet Smart Power Strip ($29.99), the BESTEK 8-Outlet Power Strip ($41.99) and the Amtake Wi-Fi Smart Power Strip ($29.99).

Smart Sprinkler Systems: Realtor.com reports that the average cost of watering your lawn for a year is $477. Smart sprinklers that optimize your watering routine and adjust based on the weather can save you up to 50% on your lawn water bill (according to Rachio Smart Sprinkler). If we put the more conservative estimate of 30 percent on that number the savings sit at around $143 a year.

The most popular smart sprinkler systems are the Rachio Smart Sprinkler ($198), the RainMachine HD 12 ($239) and the Netro Smart Sprinkler Controller ($149).

Smart Home Lighting: The average cost of lighting is $0.1312 power kilowatts per hour. A smart light bulb saves $0.0013 per hour when multiplied by 8,760 hours in a year, the among saved yearly is $11.38.

The most popular smart light bulbs are the Cree Connected LED Bulb ($15), the Eufy Lumos Smart Bulb White ($20) and the GE Link Connected LED ($28).

Smart Washing Machine: On average, a new Energy Star certified clothes washer uses 280 kilowatts per hour of electricity and can save you about $45 a year.

The most popular smart washing machines are the Samsung WF56H9110AG ($14 39), the Kenmore Elite 41072 ($999) and the Maytag MHW8100DC ($1449).

Smart Dryer: A full-size electric Energy Star certified dryer saves $200 in energy bills over the life of the product. With an average life of 10 years that averages out to $20 a year.

The most popular smart dryers are the Kenmore Smart 9.0 Cu. Ft. Electric Dryer ($1279), the Samsung 9.5 Cu. Ft. Electric Steam Dryer with Drying Rack ($1199) and the Maytag Bravos 7.3 Cu. Ft. Electric Front Load Dryer ($679).

Smart Dishwasher: Energy Star smart dishwashers claim to save $35 a year and over 3,870 gallons of water over their lifetime.

The most popular smart dishwashers are the LG Top Control Tall Tub Smart Dishwasher ($798), the GE Profile Top Control Smart Dishwasher ($1349) and the LG Top Control Built-In Tall Tub Smart Dishwasher ($1529).

Smart Refrigerator: Energy Star reports that a 19-21 Cubic Feet French Door smart fridge will save a customer $134 a year.

The most popular smart refrigerators are the Samsung Smart Fridge ($4,993), the LG Super Cap ($3,846) and the GE Cafe Fridge ($3,053).