One of the undeniable advantages of smart homes is the monitoring of electricity consumption in real time. With the right combination of home control devices, you can obtain benefits in home energy efficiency together with considerable savings, without compromising the comfort of the spaces and the occupants.

In a smart home system, all connected devices can contribute to creating savings and reducing the environmental footprint. This can be done, for example, through alerts during peak consumption times, or by activation only when the photovoltaic system has a higher output.

Electricity consumption meters are one of the key tools in home automation systems. They have the great advantage of wired connection to an existing electrical panel or wireless connection  to communicate with smart devices around the home, requiring less obtrusive installation solutions.

On the subject of unobtrusive methods of monitoring electricity consumption,  smart home appliances can self-monitor and communicate via standard protocols, with no need for a wired data exchange. Similarly, smart sockets assist “traditional” household appliances by collecting their data and sending it to the system.

How can we view the collected data? Here too, the options offer great flexibility. The wall-mounted control panels offer constantly updated consumption readings and are available in several designs that fit in with any furnishing style. To monitor from wherever you are and to customise the functions , you can simply use the apps, which offer the same functions but in wireless mode.

The apps and control panels for monitoring the electricity consumption and indoor temperature of the home offer a wide range of customisation options, such as switching on appliances in the cheapest consumption bands and avoiding overloads that can interrupt the power supply, as well as setting heating and lighting profiles on a room-by-room basis.

A room not in use can be left unheated, while another that is only occupied during the day can have the lights set to a lower wattage than areas occupied in the evening.

A connected smart home also allows thermostats  to beconnected to the system via the most popular voice assistants, so that you can check the current data with a simple voice-activated request.

Finally, the data storage functions provide the possibility of keeping a long-term consumption record.

What is the point of collecting data through a smart home monitoring system?  Smart sockets and household appliances, alerts, consumption history and wireless functions are all you need to start saving on electricity and to develop greater awareness of the energy needs of your home.

With the data and the right devices, you can gain a thorough understanding of the time bands in which you consume most and then seek an energy supply that suits your needs.

Identifying waste and adopting technological, practical and comprehensive solutions to cut unnecessary costs - perhaps through the addition of solar panels or heat pumps - helps make a positive impact on utility bills and on the environment, to help face rising energy costs and the increasingly important focus on energy requirements.