Was totally against smart home stuff until my thermostat proved me wrong

I used to think smart home gadgets were just expensive toys for people with too much money. My buddy kept telling me to get a Nest thermostat for like 2 years and I laughed it off every time. Last winter my heating bill hit $280 in January which felt insane for my little apartment in Chicago. Finally caved and bought a refurbished one for $120 on eBay just to shut him up. After 3 months my bill dropped to around $180 on average even during that cold snap in March. The way it learns when I'm home and adjusts the temp while I'm at work actually makes a difference. I still think most smart home stuff is overrated but the thermostat thing is legit. Anyone else have a smart device they doubted that actually saved them money?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielm8016h ago

...and honestly the savings part is what got me too, but for me it was a smart plug of all things. I got one of those Kasa ones for like 12 bucks on sale just to turn my porch light on and off when I was out of town. Ended up plugging my old space heater into it with a schedule so it only runs from 6 to 8 in the morning and 6 to 10 at night. My electric bill dropped by about 40 bucks a month because I stopped leaving it running all day by accident. Now I got three of them for different stuff and the whole setup paid for itself in like two months.

young.thomas11h ago

Wait, did you feel kinda dumb at first when you realized how much money you were just throwing away? Because that was me with my space heater too. I used to just leave the thing running in my home office all day thinking it was no big deal, but then I got a smart plug for like 10 bucks on Amazon and set it to only run between 8 and 11 in the morning when I'm actually working. My electric bill dropped almost 35 dollars the first month. Now I've got one for my living room lamp that turns on at sunset and off at midnight, and another for my coffee maker so it's hot when I wake up. The whole thing paid for itself in less than two months and I honestly feel stupid for not doing it sooner.

lewis.brian12h ago

oh man I was the same way, thought they were just gimmicks. Then I got a smart power strip for my entertainment center because I was tired of my kids leaving everything on. Now I just kill the whole thing with one button before bed and my electric bill actually went down like 15 bucks. never thought a little strip would do that.