Our smart home upgrade didn't go as green as planned

We got a smart thermostat last year hoping to lower our carbon footprint, but my husband and kids keep bumping up the heat the second they feel chilly. Everyone acts like these gadgets are the perfect answer for family energy savings, but I disagree because they assume everyone will follow the program. In our house, the constant overrides mean we're using more power than with our old manual thermostat. I think sometimes simpler, agreed-upon house rules work better than fancy tech for real sustainability. It's made me question if these solutions always fit how real families actually live.

7 comments

7 Comments

dianam993h ago

What?! You're using more power now?

burns.phoenix7h ago

How do you even get people on board with the settings, right? I totally get what you mean about the fancy tech not fixing the real habit problem. It's like what brooke533 said about the light switches, you just end up with a more expensive version of the same old fight. The gadgets feel like they're made for a perfect house where everyone listens, not a real one where someone is always cold. It's so frustrating when the simple, agreed rule would honestly work better than something you can override with a phone. Makes the whole green goal feel kinda pointless if no one follows the plan lol.

brooke5337h ago

Sounds familiar. We got smart bulbs to save power, but my kid just flips the wall switch off out of habit.

ben_hall7h ago

Honestly that "more expensive version of the same old fight" line misses the point. The tech isn't the problem, it's the setup. @brooke533 you gotta work with the habit, not against it. Put a cheap plastic guard over the wall switch so the kid can't flip it, or set the bulbs to turn on with motion. Then the saving happens automatically without the fight.

joseph4157h ago

Remember when voice assistants were gonna change everything? Mine just ordered 12 rolls of tape, and @patriciabailey's passcode idea is starting to sound pretty good.

patriciabailey7h ago

Totally get the "perfect house where everyone listens" thing. We put a passcode on the thermostat so only I can change the base program. They can still bump it up, but only a few degrees before it locks.

the_felix7h ago

Tbh doesn't that drive you nuts? We put a smart plug on a lamp to auto-off and my wife just unplugs the whole thing. So much for saving power.