There are many things that need to be done in order to grow your business. One of them should most certainly be cutting expenses, I’m no expert in accounting but I can tell you, reducing your energy usage is a super easy way to save. You should certainly focus on growing your business while still seeking to reduce your power. There are many traditional ways to reduce energy which hopefully you already implement into your business (see here), now is the time to save even more with smart technology.

Thanks to the advancement of technology in our world, there are currently so many ways of saving your energy expenses. You can now save electricity through smart devices such as smart plugs, smart bulbs and smart speakers (namely Amazon Alexa & Google Home.)

These devices are designed to make life easy. Although millions of us use them at home, many smart tech-savvy companies use them within their business to make things simpler. Smart tech doesn’t just make things easier, they cut cost, reduce mistakes and save time. Time is money people, it’s time to get on Amazon.

You may be unsure whether or not to Alexa could help you run your business, that’s normal. Yet, as you decide to try out the devices, I assure you that you will fall in love with them; before long you’ll hate having to get up from your desk to turn the lights on as the clouds cover the sun.

My Smart Tech Recommendations

Amazon Alexa – £74.99

I’m a big Google user, I love Google. I own both Amazons Alexa & Googles Home. Amazon is winning in the smart speaker realm and with good reason. Google is good for, google. If you want to use your smart speaker to control the lights, thermostat, air condition, sound system, security cameras, smoke alarms or general plugs – go with Alexa, she is better and more “in tune” at the moment.

Nest Learning Thermostat – £199.99

In terms of thermostats to control the heating or the air condition at work, there’s only one choice, well there’s a lot more but you can’t beat Nest. Nest Learning Thermostat, 3rd Generation, is an absolute beauty and beast. You have complete control over your businesses heating/cooling from your phone and can also control it from your smart speaker.

TP-Link HS100 Wi-Fi Smart Plug – £42.98

These TP-Link smart plugs will be the best thing you’ve ever purchased. Plug these into your wall sockets around the shop/office and connect your normal extension leads to them. Now you will have full control over the whole extension lead. You can also group the plugs together on your phone and turn on/off all the plugs in a certain group, i.e. all the plug sockets in your office. Perhaps the best and most useful feature is the “schedule” feature. You can schedule your plugs to turn on 30 minutes before you usually arrive at work in the morning and turn them off at 7pm every evening.

Philips Hue White Personal Wireless Lighting LED Starter Kit – £54.99

The Philips Hue starter kit and the rest of the bulbs they provide are excellent. They are reliable, can be set on a schedule, can be turned on/off with your phone or voice. No need to lift yourself off your desk anymore.

How Smart Devices Work

Smart devices connect to your wifi network and make themselves accessible via applications on your mobile phone or computer. It’s not necessary to have a smart speaker but it helps to have these little assistant speakers you can speak to. The smart devices are easy to set up. The Amazon Alexa & Google Home are smart speakers that you can dictate to do anything you desire. Like the traditional plugs, the Wi-Fi smart plugs can be plugged in every wall socket. With these plugs wirelessly connected to their App on your smartphone, you can control your electrical power. The Wi-Fi bulbs are an easy way of customizing and controlling your lights right on your mobile device.

 

How to Use These Three Devices Together?

In the midst of running your business, you might find yourself all over the place, and will probably forget to turn off the lights/equipment. Whether you are in your business or away, saving your energy can be a chore. Even when you put your employees in charge of saving your energy, they may not do it well if they follow the traditional way.

It makes sense to use smart technology to help you use less energy while not adding to anyone’s workload. Now with the Wi-Fi connected; light bulbs, speakers, plugs, cameras, and thermostats – all working together, you can easily cut down on your energy expenses.

The cost of these devices significantly falls each year, with more and more competitors and better technology.

These smart devices will make your business run more smoothly than you have ever imagined. When they are wirelessly connected to each other through their phone App, downloaded either from Play Store or from Appstore, they will give you complete control over your power use. With this tech, you need not worry about switching your lights on or off; it will get the job done for you either by talking to your Alexa, clicking the button on your app or setting up schedules and timers.

For example, you can set all the lights to turn on as you enter your office and turn them off as you go home. You can instruct your employees to turn on or off the lights in the restaurant using the iPad at the desk or in the kitchen.

You can also customize the light bulbs colours as you please; that is, depending on the occasion, you can schedule the device to change the light colours of your store, which adds a lot to the ambiance of your spot.

If you are running a launderette, you can be sure all machines, irons, and steamers are turned off, even while you’re at home just by looking at the app. If you ever find you forgot a machine plugged into the socket, there is no need to worry about it, you can immediately turn it off thanks to the handy smart plug app on your phone.