Skip to main content
  • We support our mission through our Environmental, Social and Governance practices.

Home
  • About Us
  • Responsible Energy Plan
  • Media
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Features
    • News
  • Renewable Energy
  • Cooperative Benefits
  • Operations
  • Careers
  • Search
Menu

Search form

smart home devices, energy efficiency

10/29/2020

The Future is (Mostly) Now for Smart Homes
 

The longtime promises of a “smart home” are now being fulfilled by AI (artificial intelligence) home assistants like Alexa, Siri or Google Home, though not quite the way it was imagined in the futuristic 1960s cartoon, The Jetsons.

Connected electronic devices playing various roles around your house can indeed make life more convenient and comfortable, as long as you put some thought into which parts of your life truly need to be modernized in this way. 

Why your refrigerator should talk to your toaster, for example, is a question that smart devices haven’t been able to answer yet. Just because every object can be connected these days through electricity and wi-fi does not mean they need to be. 

But a lot of devices are proving their worth every day, through convenience, efficiency, and an unseen but important impact on climate change through clean energy.

 

What a Smart Home Can Do

Smart thermostats, for example, learn your home habits and adjust accordingly. You can also access them through your cell phone. Think how that translates to energy savings: Instead of heating your whole house while you’re away for work or vacation, you can wait until you’re driving home from the airport to push the temperature into your comfort zone. 

Internet-enabled home security cameras have also proven their worth and popularity. As winter darkness descends, users can scan their front doors for safety before they leave their car. Workers can check in at home on an ailing pet or even make sure their kids are focused on schoolwork. With packages arriving more frequently during the pandemic, a doorbell camera keeps you up to date on deliveries and may keep porch pirates at bay. 
 

Smarter-home-Alexa-light-Google ads 1200x628.jpg

Smart Home and Energy Efficiency

Your home comfort and energy efficiency can also be transformed through other appliances that are a growing part of the “beneficial electrification” movement. As electrical generation moves more and more toward clean, renewable sources like wind, hydro and solar power, changing key appliances from propane or natural gas to electricity is a powerful way to make your home “smart.” 

Air source heat pumps enable you to transfer the existing heat in the outside air into your home, using cleaner energy more efficiently than natural gas heaters that burn fuel all day to keep your home comfortable. Advances in heat pump technology even let you control the heat in individual rooms, increasing your comfort while operating efficiently even when the outside temperatures are below freezing! Induction stoves use magnetic energy for fast, efficient cooking. 

Your garage is another home place where electrification can have a major impact on both personal enjoyment and climate change.

Going electric with your vehicle is one of the most impactful decisions you can make for the environment, and consumer reviews increasingly rave about the quality and performance of battery-powered cars.

 

How to Set Up a Smart Home

Joining the trend can be as simple as purchasing an Alexa or similar device, plugging into your existing wall outlets, or as innovative as investing in an electric vehicle charger for your garage. 

Of course, when you start exploring the smart home, you’ll be offered all kinds of other gadgets.

Special bulbs can now be connected online, allowing you to control them for security when you’re away, or for comfort from the couch when you’re at home. 

And the “smart refrigerator?” The promise is that these devices can automatically read the bar codes or RFID signals from the food items in the fridge and send a signal to your phone telling you when to re-order or throw expired things out. Yes, it would be great to never drink sour milk again. On the other hand, do you really want your ice cream consumption shared on the internet? 

Taken together, these ideas for the increasingly electrified smart home are proving that the home of the future is already here, even if it doesn’t look exactly like any Jetsons episode.

Exploring which things you’re going to adopt and which things can wait is one of those tasks you can perform from your comfortably-heated, perfectly-lit couch. 

___________

Tri-State is a not-for-profit cooperative of 45 members, including 42 member utility electric distribution cooperatives and public power districts in four states, that together deliver reliable, affordable and responsible power to more than a million electricity consumers across nearly 200,000 square miles of the West. For more information about Tri-State and our Responsible Energy Plan, visit www.tristate.coop. 

 

Contributor:

Matt Fitzgibbon, Beneficial Electrification Manager

Blog Posts

Electric Trucks for The Rocky Mountains

Electric Trucks May Be the Future for The Rockies

As electric vehicles (EV) are expanding into the mainstream, so too are the choices for new electric models including electric trucks.  And while there aren’t any on the road right now, several manufacturers expect to be selling these as early as 2021. 
Mike Frailey, Relationship Manager 
Read more >
Induction vs. Gas Cooktops

Induction vs. Gas Cooktops

Are you ready to switch out your gas cooktop? The equipment you use to cook your food is just as important as the ingredients you use. If you are looking to switch out gas for electricity or buy an induction cooktop or range, here are some pros and cons for each, and tips for going with induction. 
Matt Fitzgibbon, Beneficial Electrification Manager
Read more >
what is beneficial electrification

What is Beneficial Electrification?

What is ‘Beneficial Electrification,’ and why is it important?
Matt Fitzgibbon, Beneficial Electrification Manager
Read more >
Tips for Switching to LED Lighting

Tips for Switching to LED Lighting

Thinking of transitioning to LED bulbs? Learn how making the switch to LED light bulbs offers significant energy savings over incandescent and halogen alternatives, and how you can choose the best lighting options for your home
Sander Blackburn, Member Relations Program Manager
Read more >
Energy Saving Water Heaters

Energy Saving Water Heaters

Conventional water heaters may be a thing of the past with the introduction of a variety of new energy-efficient water heaters. The type of water heater you choose will also affect your water heating costs. Whether you are shopping around for a new energy-saving water heater, looking to replace an old one that just went out, or looking for the best model for a new house build, here are some tips to help you choose carefully.
Matt Fitzgibbon, Beneficial Electrification Manager
Read more >
Make Your Home More Energy Efficient in 2021

How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient in 2021

Many homeowners are now looking for more ways to make their home energy efficient by stepping into smart home technology, electrified appliances, embracing cleaner energy sources, and pursuing more energy-efficient ways to heat and cool their homes. Here are a few energy-saving tips to make your home more efficient in 2021.
Matt Fitzgibbon, Beneficial Electrification Manager
Read more >
Advantages of Heat Pumps for Energy Efficiency

Advantages of Heat Pumps for Energy Efficiency

A heat pump is considered one of the most energy-efficient methods for heating and cooling a home, especially compared to homes heated with baseboard electric heat or propane heated homes. With the improvements in technology over the last 5 years, heat pumps are becoming competitive even in homes heated by natural gas.
Peter Rusin, Member Relations Manager
Read more >
Fun Winter Activity Ideas for the Whole Family

Fun Winter Activities for the Whole Family

Snowy, winter days are here, which means outdoor snow activities! Whether you’re heading outdoors for the slopes, trails, ice skating rink, or backyard, remember to practice safety first. Too snowy to go outside? We also have some unique winter activities to enjoy indoors, as well as a few within our members’ footprint throughout Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Wyoming.
Kristen Wurth, Communications Specialist
Read more >
Holiday Gift Ideas for Electricians

Gift Ideas for the Electrician

If you’re lost for gift ideas for the lineworker or electrician who is also a gadget lover, we've put together a handy list with some of the best tech and electrician gifts of 2020 for those who seem to have it all.
Matt Fitzgibbon, Beneficial Electrification Manager
Read more >

Pagination

  • Currently on page   1
  • Page   2
  • Page   3
  • Page   4
  • Page   5
  • Page   6
  • Next pageNext ›
  • Last pageLast »

Subscribe

* indicates required
Join our mailing list for
updates and member news
 
 

Quick links

  • About Us
  • Environmental, Social and Governance
  • Financials
  • Media
  • Operations
  • Careers
  • Member Tools
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Employee login

Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association
Office: 303-452-6111
1100 West 116th Avenue
Westminster, CO 80234

Mailing address:
PO Box 33695
Denver, CO 80233-0695

©2021 Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. Power supplier to the rural west.

  • About Us
  • Responsible Energy Plan
  • Media
    • Resources
    • Blog
    • Features
    • News
  • Renewable Energy
  • Cooperative Benefits
  • Operations
  • Careers
  • Search