The best HomeKit 2020 smart plugs, Wemo Mini smart plug in a kitchen frameSource: Belkin

We love HomeKit for its convenient controls, automation potential, and ease of use, but did you know that you can also use HomeKit to save energy? With the right combination of HomeKit accessories and a little knowledge of automation, you can be able to reduce the energy consumption of your home in minutes. Here are some HomeKit energy saving tips and ideas that can help you get started.

Connect and save

Meross Smart Wifi Plug Mini in front of an Ikea and Sylvania Smart Plug

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

The fastest and easiest way to reduce energy consumption in your home is with a smart HomeKit plug. These little accessories make instantly connected devices smart and are incredibly simple to set up, with most cases involving connecting one and scanning its HomeKit pairing code.

How to configure HomeKit accessories

HomeKit smart plugs are great for those cases where you left something on while going out to work. You can turn off smart sockets remotely with the Home app or even with a Siri via-CarPlay command. Even if you are still at home, the simple convenience of remote controls can help you reduce wasteful habits. Is it no longer in an upstairs room where a fan or lamp is still on? Switch it from the comfort of your couch without having to get up.

For maximum impact, try pairing a smart HomeKit outlet with indoor space heaters, appliances, electronics, or home lamps. For the outdoors, use a smart HomeKit outdoor plug with battery chargers for power tools, decorative lighting or even pool pumps. Of course, smart plugs also consume power, so be sure to check for labels on your devices and plugs that have power or volts to make sure you're saving.

Instant smarts


How to save energy with HomeKit accessories and automation

Wemo Mini

Reduced savings

The very slim Wemo Mini smart card from Belkin gives you control over energy pigs, such as space heaters and appliances. With HomeKit, you can automate your daily routine to add even more savings.

External power


How to save energy with HomeKit accessories and automation

Meross smart outdoor plug

Tools, decorations and more

Meross's smart outdoor plug brings comfort and energy savings outdoors. Perfect for power tools and decorations, this weatherproof plug allows you to turn off wasting devices all year round.

Monitor it

Connectsense Smart Inwall Outlet application

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

Sometimes it takes a little awareness to promote energy saving and there are plenty of HomeKit accessories that can provide relevant data to help you. Some smart HomeKit plugs and wall outlets include on-board power monitoring capabilities that can show energy trends over time, real-time consumption data, charts, and even real costs by introducing utility tariffs.

If you have a monitored HomeKit plug, don't just limit it to devices you think are power consuming - use its portable nature to your advantage! Try moving your smart plug to all devices - especially older ones, in your home to help identify potential problems and replace or reconfigure as needed.

Ecobee SmartThermostat SmartSensor on a shelf

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

In addition to smart plugs, there are several HomeKit sensors available that measure temperature, humidity, light, window and door condition. Most HomeKit sensors are completely wireless, battery-powered, and use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to transmit data, making them handy enough to monitor multiple rooms and make it easy to keep track of.

HomeKit temperature sensors, in particular, are one of the best ways to save energy, as they can help determine the exact time when you need to turn on your heater or air conditioner. Most thermostats in the house react only to the temperature in the room or area where they are, which may or may not be where you spend most of your time.

These scenarios lead to cases where your heating and air are working, even if it is comfortable on one side of the house, so with a temperature sensor, you can make adjustments to prevent this. The same is true for HomeKit humidity sensors, although adjusting humidity levels may not be fully feasible.

Vocolinc VS 1 Review of open contact sensor

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

Another great sensor option is the HomeKit door and window sensors - otherwise known as contact sensors. Contact sensors are another quick and easy way to keep tabs at home because they attach directly to doors and windows using tape. Simply pull on a contact sensor and you will always know if the doors or windows are open and affect the climate of your home.

Wall monitoring


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ConnectSense Smart In-Wall Outlet

Precise and invisible

ConnectSense Smart In-Wall Outlet puts the smarts inside your wall, giving up the bulky look of the traditional smart plug. Accurate energy monitoring capabilities give you all the data you need to reduce energy consumption.

Keep the tabs


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Aqara temperature sensor

Save with a sensor

The ultra-compact, wireless Aqara temperature sensor can go almost anywhere in the house. This sensor can give you a more accurate picture of room temperature, leading to smarter thermostat adjustments.

Open and close


How to save energy with HomeKit accessories and automation

Eve Door and Window

Knowledge is power

Eva's contact sensor not only provides instant notifications, but also helps identify if a door or window is left open. With this sensor, you can stop wasting energy and avoid expensive heating and cooling bills.

Climate control

Ecobee SmartThermostat

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

Heating and cooling your home is more than likely the biggest energy consumer you have, so if you want to see a significant impact on your use, you need a HomeKit thermostat. Installing a HomeKit thermostat is easier than you might think, with most following the same steps and requiring only basic tools and electrical knowledge. If you are still a little scared of this thought, take a look at our ecobee thermostat installation guide, it will give you a good overview of the process.

Installation and configuration of ecobee4 wifi thermostat

While features may vary between thermostats, HomeKit offers some pretty useful standards, such as Siri controls, stage support, and the potential to make adjustments through automation. Some of the latest generation HomeKit thermostats also offer automatic comfort adjustments, which take into account the occupancy and use trends of the rooms.

GE HomeKit window air conditioner in a living room

Source: GE

If you have a smaller house or really only use a few rooms each day, then a HomeKit air conditioner may be appropriate. Window air conditioning units focus on cooling only the area in which they are arranged and are perfect for bedrooms, offices or anywhere else where you spend a lot of time.

As with smart thermostats, HomeKit air conditioners offer the same remote controls, stage support and potential for automation, only on a smaller scale. Although none of the current HomeKit window options have learning capabilities, you can still combine one with a HomeKit temperature sensor to create automatic adjustments.

Hunter Romulus ceiling fan in a kitchen setting

Source: Hunter

Another energy-saving air conditioning option is a HomeKit ceiling fan. Ceiling fans are already great for circulating air in a room or for easy ventilation, but with HomeKit you can use other accessories to do magical things. HomeKit fan features include speed adjustment via Siri or the Home app, integrated lighting control, and even fan rotation change.

By automating, you can set the fan to turn on automatically if the temperature or humidity in a room becomes too hot or clogged. Creating this type of automation will save energy, allowing you to set your home's thermostat to a higher temperature during the day, while still maintaining comfort. Setting up this type of automation is a bit difficult, so see the guide below if you need help.

How to create a temperature-based automation in HomeKit

High impact


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Ecobee SmartThermostat

Smart investment

The ecobee SmartThermostat opens the door to significant energy savings. Smart RoomSensor compatibility adjusts temperatures according to occupancy, and programming options keep the air off while you're not around.

Personal cooling


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GE Profile PHC06LY Air conditioner

Exact

The GE Profile HomeKit air conditioner keeps energy consumption low by just cooling a single room. Install this air conditioner in a bedroom or home office to maximize energy savings and costs.

Feel the breeze


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Hunter Symphony Wi-Fi ceiling fan

Circulate savings

This Hunter HomeKit ceiling fan keeps the air in your home, moving with an elegant and modern design. Home applications and Siri speed controls can give you a breath of fresh air while still keeping your air conditioner turned off.

The lights are off

Bulbrite Solana Filament Edison

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

Our final energy-saving tips are about lighting your home. Switching to LED lighting over the years has significantly reduced energy consumption for most of us, but there are certainly a few opportunities to reduce it even further. HomeKit bulbs are a way to approach it, making your home lighting handy, adding dimming controls and, of course, support for automation.

A simple but effective way to save energy is to create an automation that turns off the light bulbs when you leave for a day. This automation will use the location data on your iPhone to determine when to run, and another automation can reactivate it on arrival.

How to create automations in the Home application

Another energy-saving automation is to have the outside lights turned off at sunrise every morning or at a time of your choice, so you don't have to worry about leaving them on all day.

Meross Smart Wifi Switch Review

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

Do you have a lot of luminaires with multiple bulbs? Then a HomeKit light switch or a HomeKit adjustment switch may be a better option. HomeKit switches are installed directly in the walls much like traditional switches, making all light bulbs attached to a smart device and available for automation and shortcuts.

How to install a HomeKit compatible light switch

If you go with a HomeKit lighting switch, you can save money in advance by not having to replace every light bulb and, in the long run, consuming less energy overall than more smart light bulbs.

Lutron Wireless Motion Sensor Box next to the Onvis SMS Motion Sensor 1

Source: Christopher Close / iMore

If you want to take your lighting savings to the next level, add a HomeKit motion sensor. With HomeKit automation, you can set the lights to come on when you get home, without ever leaving yourself in the dark while looking for the keys. More importantly, however, HomeKit motion sensors can be set to turn off the lights automatically after a certain time or after motion is no longer detected.

However, the best part of the motion sensor capabilities is that you may already have one in your home. Most HomeKit cameras expose their motion sensors built into the Home application, so you can use them as a dedicated accessory. If you can't track your camera's sensor, see our guide below.

How to unearth HomeKit accessories in the Home app

Quick change


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Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance Spout

Smart savings

The Philips Hue line of smart bulbs can be famous for their bright and colorful lighting, but they are also a great choice to reduce energy costs in the home. LED technology, energy-efficient programs and remote controls make it easy to manage your home's lighting.

Stop it


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Set Starter Lutron Cassette Wireless Smart Lighting Dimmer Switch

Save energy and money

Lutron Wireless Cassette products bring smart convenience and energy savings to all existing light bulbs and luminaires. HomeKit controls and dimming capabilities reduce power consumption and can prevent lighting from staying on all day.

Never forget


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Eve Motion

You need to save energy

If you have HomeKit lighting in your home, you need a motion sensor to unlock the most energy savings. By automating, you can let HomeKit automatically manage your lights when you enter or leave the room.

Do you have any tips for saving HomeKit energy?

What are some of your favorite ways to use HomeKit to save energy? How much impact has HomeKit had on energy consumption? Tell us in the comments below!

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The best
HomeKit Nightlights
immoral
2020

The best HomeKit night lights combine paths and room lighting with modern home facilities. Whether you control the brightness levels of night light through Home or Siri or turn them on automatically with motion, these HomeKit accessories can do much more than their "stupid" counterparts. Check out the best of both worlds with our guide to the best HomeKit night lighting options around.


The Best HomeKit Nightlights 2020 immoral

Favorite staff

Blackout Buddy Connect serves as a night light, flashlight, USB charger, motion sensor and portable battery, all in a single plug-in package. When the power goes out, the built-in light comes to life automatically, guiding you on your way to safety. Built-in Wi-Fi connectivity allows you to keep tabs at home, notifying you of a power outage, even while you're away.

  • $ 40 on Amazon

  • $ 32 at Walmart


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LED light strips are very suitable right now, for children, teenagers and adults. If you have a child who resists the idea of ​​a "night light", this is a perfect solution. It is multicolored, adjustable, adjustable and works with HomeKit and Siri, as well as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. You don't even need a hub.

$ 37 on Amazon


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As its name suggests, Arlo Baby is perfect for the nursery, with room sensors, night light and air quality always on. The night light supports tons of different colors and light levels, and Arlo Baby's playful design is completely customizable through various changeable themes, such as a bunny. Completing the feature set is two-way sound and soothing sounds, which make it the best baby monitor.

$ 189 on Amazon


The Best HomeKit Nightlights 2020 immoral

IDevices Wall Outlet is the best solution to add a night light around the house, without having to compromise on appearance. This smart socket is installed directly in the wall, replacing a traditional one, which allows it to integrate perfectly with your decor. Best of all, this socket has an LED light that works perfectly as a night light, complete with color selection through Home application.

$ 93 on Amazon


The best HomeKit lamps of 2020

Eve Flare is a beautiful lamp that has complete fading and color capabilities, making it a fun option due to its unique design. The flare is fully portable with a built-in battery and is also weatherproof, which means you can bring your night light on your next camping trip. When used on the go, this lamp lasts up to six hours to charge and even has a handy handle that allows it to hang inside a tent.

  • $ 100 to Apple

  • $ 100 to Adorama


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This tiny light displays 16 million different colors. Buy just one or buy a bunch and create beautiful, colorful and dynamic scenes in your home. Homekit support, affordable price and the ability to put them together make Cololight Plus a great way to create art with light.

$ 24 on Amazon

Guide lights

Night lights are an essential element in most homes, as they help shine a little light in a dark room or serve as a guide light for late night snacking. The best HomeKit night lights help these home helpers take it to the next level through personalization, convenience and control, all through an app or Siri. Eton Blackout Buddy Connect is one of our favorite night lights because it offers a rare combination of lighting, connectivity and safety, keeping the area lit and devices powered in an emergency.

Do you need a night light for the nursery? Then check out Arlo Baby. This playful partner checks all the essentials of the baby with an HD camera, a two-way sound, a temperature detection and, of course, a night light. Whatever option you choose, your home will have the subtle light you need, as well as HomeKit connectivity, which makes the darkness disappear with automation or color.

Want to create a work of art from light? Buy a bunch of LifeSmart Cololight Plus lights and create a colorful light scene. Or just buy one; it's pretty cool in itself. See our LifeSmart Cololight Plus review to find out more.

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