“Smart” Houses Sell In Down Market
Home owners hoping to attract buyers in the midst of a housing slump are “teaching” their homes to save money on energy costs.
“Smart homes can be made even smarter if they are wired to control energy costs as well as water the lawn and arm the alarm system,” says Sheldon Anderson, president of Atlanta Smart Homes Inc.
In a “buyer’s market,” sellers are looking for every advantage and energy consumption is always high on the list according to realtors.
“One of the easiest ways to make a home smarter and more valuable is to reduce the amount of energy wasted each day,” says Anderson. “If a home owner is going to have a house wired to control surveillance cameras, home theaters, blinds, sprinklers, and so on, they should seriously consider climate and lighting control systems too.”
According to Anderson home owners should install lighting timers and programmable thermostats to run systems. He said they should also consider putting incandescent lights on dimmers so that lights aren’t running at full capacity. Anderson said that there are a variety of lighting and thermostat control products; dimmers, timers and sensors; fluorescents and LEDs; and other products that homeowners can have installed to save on their energy costs.
“In most homes, lighting accounts for nearly 25 percent of home electricity use,” he explains. “The average household could cut a third – or even half – of its current energy bill by switching to energy-efficient appliances, equipment and lighting, which use less energy than standard products. An energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) uses at least 60% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and provides the same amount of lighting.” An automatic timer controls when and how long a light stays on and off. Dimmers enable home owners to adjust the intensity of light in a room manually.
Anderson claims that a programmable thermostat with air cooling set at 78 degrees F can cut cooling costs 15 to 25 percent with the actual savings dependent on climate, home insulation, and utility. For people with varying schedules these thermostats can be programmed for each day of the week or be controlled remotely from a computer or even a cell phone.
Consumers can access to the Energy Wizard that covers a range of topics from conservation and new technologies to generators and tax incentives, among others. Energy related questions can be submitted to energywizard@energywizard.info or go to energywizard.info/ to read the EnergyWizard columns. For more information about Atlanta Smart Homes Inc. go to atlantasmarthomes.com/ or call Sheldon Anderson at (404) 638-6791.