How to Save Money On Home Energy Costs | Using 1 Simple Trick to Cut Costs

Home Energy Costs can sky rocket during the cold and hot months due to heating and cooling needs. With that being said, there are ways to cut save money and cut costs on your home energy bills that require little effort on your part.

I live in Utah and that means we have freezing cold winters and scorching hot summers. So, naturally, during the winter, we crank up the heater and during the summer, we crank up the air conditioning.

Spring and Fall are the perfect times of the year where it’s just the right temperature to leave our windows open and keep our temperature in our home pretty consistent.

Luckily for our sanity and health we have central air but it’s not so great for our wallet.

Sure, you can hire someone like a hvac contractor to come out and ensure your furnace and central air system is working but you can also do a few things on your home that’ll help the savings further…

A little over 2 years ago we moved into a new (new to us) home and when it came summer, we didn’t realize how much it took to cool down our home. By much, I mean money.

By July, 2017 (we had moved in during May) we had already racked up more than $478.00 on our power bill due to A/C costs. Below is an actual screenshot of our electricity bill (I blacked out the personal info)

We knew we had to cut costs but melting in the process wasn’t an option.

And by the following Summer (Summer 2018) we cut our bill down by over $232.00 which is almost 50%!!

And, I was hot, pregnant and ready for Summer to be over.

So, how did we do it?

Well, we made a few small changes like blocking the vents in our basement to force more air upstairs and fixing the gaps in our doors so air couldn’t escape.

But one of the biggest changes we made was we invested in a smart thermostat and I think that was what made such a HUGE difference.

What is a Smart Thermostat?

A smart thermostat is an advanced digital thermostat that allows you to control your home’s heating and cooling typically via an app. Most of the time you can program this thermostat to turn on/off during certain times of the day or when the desired temperature in your home has been reached.

What is the best smart thermostat in the market today?

While I cannot attest to all of the other smart thermostats purely because I have not tried them, I can say with confidence the LUX Kono Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat is hands down the best smart thermostat for the price, features, and style. (I’ll talk more on that below)

What are the best smart home thermostats in 2019?

Again, I cannot speak for other brands but I am completely impressed with the LUX Kono Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat due to overall affordability, aesthetic appeal and features.

As I mentioned, I have not tried all of the other smart home thermostats but I have tried a few. For starters, we got one with our home security system and to be honest, I was not impressed.

At first the system seemed to work well but we had an issue with the smart thermostat constantly disconnecting from our Wi-Fi and security system panel. It was not as simple as reconnecting it to Wi-Fi for it to work. Most of the time, we had to update and reboot our entire security system which meant our monitoring system went down along with our camera’s.

So, my first piece of advice to you is – DO NOT invest in a smart thermostat that has to be connected to your home security system. I now like having the 2 systems separate. Yes, it requires an additional app but the peace of mind just knowing everything is connected and working, is worth it.

The first reason I recommend the LUX Kono Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat is because of the price. Most Smart Thermostats will run you $169 – $250+ depending on what features you want.

The LUX Kono Smart Wi-Fi Thermostat is $155 and comes with an interchangeable faceplate so you can match your smart thermostat to your home decor.

That brings me to reason #2 – the aesthetic appeal. I don’t know about you, but I am a matchy match type of person. I want my home to have an overall look and feel and having some ugly, clunky thermostat that just sticks out like a sore thumb in the middle of my hallway, is a no go.

I love that the LUX Kono thermostat has interchangeable plates to match your mood, color, or home. If you know me personally, you know how much I love mint/teal and how those colors are all over my home. The Sea Green faceplate was perfect for me!

The third reason is the features. LUX Kono Smart Thermostats features:

Universal compatibility with forced air, gas, oil and electric furnaces
Works with voice assistants Amazon Alexa, apple HomeKit and google assistant
Control from anywhere with Lux app for iOS and android devices
Includes Lux Power Bridge for easy installation (except for 2 wire heat installation) when C-wire is not present
Energy saving and learning features with smart scheduling and smart tips
Compatible with a wide array of utility rebates and programs
Provides temperature alerts – great when pets or elderly are home alone
ENERGY STAR certified

If you’ve been looking into a Smart Thermostat to help cut energy costs, energy usage and energy consumption in your home especially during the hot summer and cold winters, I highly recommend checking out the LUX Kono.

You can check out more information in the video below.