HomeAutomation Smart saves as costs bite


The uptake of smart wiring devices by installers has been slower than one might expect, yet the cost-of-living crisis provides them with an ‘on the van’ profit opportunity – as it does for their stockists. Scott Brewer, head of technical at Knightsbridge, reports.


W


ith the recent leap in energy prices, consumers are under huge pressure to save money and one major drain on finances are ‘vampire appliances’ that continue to draw power when not in use, costing families hundreds of pounds a year.


British Gas estimates that as much as 23% of British domestic electrical usage is down to the so-called ‘vampire energy’ or ‘phantom load’ consumed by appliances left on standby. Obvious examples include phone chargers, set top boxes, monitors, printers and other devices that continue to draw power when not in use. The costs can be quite surprising. A printer left on but idle costs around £10 of electricity per year, while a Sky box can use 30W, which works out at over £70 a year. Individually, they don’t cost that much, but collectively and over time, they can add hundreds of pounds to an annual electricity bill – up to £500 a year according to some sources. Nationally, this could amount to up to an annual energy waste value of £2.2bn.


This comes at a time when April 2022 saw the cap on energy prices imposed by the regulator Ofgem rise by 54% per cent from £1,277 a year for the average user, to £1,971. And in October it goes up again – to an estimated £3,358 and then again in January 2023 to £3615!


So the standby issue reveals that the old practice of turning everything off at the wall was the right thing to do after all.


It feels impractical these days to expect people to go around doing that – there are so many appliances and devices in play as it is – but smart wiring accessories and apps can help reduce living costs, allowing consumers to intelligently control their energy-burning appliances better.


And as many of these smart products take up no more space on the van than traditional accessories,


they present a great ‘selling up’ opportunity when in the home, and likewise a stocking opportunity for distributors.


The backbone of any smart installation will be 13A, smart switched sockets which control appliances remotely and/ or by voice. Some proprietary examples feature power monitoring which shows live power usage in kWh and also LED indication of which gang is in use. These can be complemented with ancillaries to extend the smart capability of the home such as smart plug adaptors, smart extension leads – ideal for turning off several appliances (TV, game console, Sky box) simultaneously – and smart motion and entry sensors.


For lighting applications, smart LED downlights can provide a raft of lighting scenarios. Depending on the model installed, the homeowner can vary not only the colour temperature from warm white to daylight and everything in between but also the RGB colour with over 16 million options available.


Designed to be easily installed and quickly configured into user-friendly apps, wiring accessories and lighting products can be controlled via a smartphone. Once apps are downloaded, users, depending on system, will be able to take advantage of a variety of features, including timers, schedules, scenes, and geo-fencing (so devices can activate when the user gets home). And users can also issue instructions to either Alexa or Google Assistant to turn on downlights or turn off connected appliances. Current ranges of smart products make use of existing home routers to install a simple-to-use smart system that provides ease, flexibility, and scalability – and, most crucially, cheaper energy expenses. The cost-of-living crisis is hitting consumers’ pockets in a way not seen since the 1970s, and intelligent app-controlled accessories have a crucial role to play in helping users save money at this difficult time.


28 | electrical wholesaler September 2022


ewnews.co.uk


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