10 Great Reasons To Add Smart Plugs To Your Home.

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SMARTZONE SMART PLUGS – SAFER, SMARTER, SIMPLER, SAVINGS 

Working from home. Kid’s driving you mad, too much to get done, and not enough time to do them? Have you ever wished that your home could do them for you? That your house would just run itself? Or even that you could save energy without having to run around the house every night to switch off all the power points?

Well, with Smartzone you can. You Smartzone System can make your wishes come true! The Smartzone smart plugs are the first easy step into home automation, and they will have you wondering how you ever got by without them.

Before we get into the great things you can do with them, you might be wondering what a Smart Plug is, and what makes them ‘Smart’?

WHAT MAKES SMARTZONE SMART PLUGS “SMART”?

A smart plug is like a plug adapter – it fits between your power socket and the appliance you wish to plug in. At its most basic level, it simply turns things on and off. But, when connected to a smart home platform, it becomes a very capable device.

They are considered ‘smart’ because they let you control your appliances using your Smartzone App on your phone from anywhere. Smartzone will let you set schedules for your smart plugs so you can turn appliances on and off at set times and on specific days.

Each Smartzone Smart Plug is also an energy meter and can tell you how much energy each appliance connected through it is using. This is an incredibly useful feature for the energy-conscious consumer and is communicated to you via the Smartzone App to help you save on energy use.

So how do you control them? The Smartzone System in your home comes Smart Enabled. It can communicate with the Smart Plugs, manage schedules and automation, and keeps everything under control.

HERE ARE 10 COOL THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH A SMART PLUG:

 

1: TURN YOUR HOME INTO A HAUNTED HOUSE: 

 

Keeping the Kid’s occupied when at home for long periods can be daunting. Have some fun with them and create a knee-trembling creepy house, well, picture this:

Your family walks in the front door and all the lights go out. Then eerie waltz music starts playing from somewhere deep in the house. Next, the lounge room lamp turns on, but only for a minute, before switching off again.

The music cuts and there’s silence. A small floor heater turns on and blows hot air at their feet, then the TV turns on with maximum volume… If you haven’t scared them at this point, then they have a very steely nerve!

 2: TAKE SOME STRESS OUT OF BEDTIME – AUTOMATE YOUR LIGHTS & APPLIANCES:

One of the most useful features of the Smartzone System is lighting automation using rules and schedules. We all turn on lights around the house every evening and often these are table or desk top lamps. Using Smartzone Smart Plugs you can completely automate this. Save on energy and know that the lights are off when you get to bed.

Or when working from the home office you might forget to switch off the desk lights and must get out of a warm bed to go down and switch them off.

Setting your lights to come on and off to a daily schedule is a great way to use Smart Plugs. With Smartzone Easy Scheduler you can set the times you want lights to turn on and off each day. This can be done by time, or by sunrise and sunset with our system using web-based data to adjust the schedule for summer and winter.

Every evening set the lights come on one hour before sunset and off again at say midnight when you are gone to bed. Adjust for weekdays and weekends. Set up night lights for the Kid’s so that these can be set to go off once they have fallen asleep.

Just remember to switch your lighting to energy efficient LED bulbs to maximise savings.

 3: IDENTIFY ENERGY HUNGRY APPLIANCES AND UPGRADE TO SAVE: 

Have you ever wondered how much it really costs to run your home appliances? Or considered upgrading to more energy-efficient models, but feel unsure about which appliance will give you the biggest savings?

When you connect your appliance through a smart plug you can track how much electricity it consumes. If you don’t want to buy 10 smart plugs, you can always plug one an appliance at a time to a smart plug. You can then track how much each appliance consumes and you will know you exactly what’s using the most electricity.

With this knowledge, you will be able to decide, without a doubt, which appliance will shave the most of your energy bill if you replace it. You can also then select an appliance to keep attached to the smart plug, so you can switch it off when it’s not being used and cut down on its standby power consumption.

 4: IDENTIFY AND ELIMINATE STANDBY ENERGY USE: 

Standby energy usage is the power your electronic devices use when they are on standby. Standby or Phantom power can make up to 10% of your electricity bills. A Smart TV and Sky box left on standby each night can use as mush as €25 of energy per year.

Ok, so €25 on a single device seems like a small amount but this can scale quickly when you consider every appliance in the home that’s consuming energy when asleep. While a single device consumes very little in annual electricity use, when multiplied by several dozen products, you’re no longer talking about pocket change. This phantom energy use can account for as much as 10% of your annual electricity bill.  What’s more, standby power use is roughly responsible for 1% of global CO2 emissions!

Some of the biggest standby power energy suckers are:

  • Laptops and desktop computers
  • Heaters and ACs
  • Wi-Fi modems
  • Printers and scanners
  • TVs, Set-Top Boxes, DVD players and game consoles
  • Phone chargers
  • Microwaves, blenders and other kitchen appliances

When you connect your appliances to smart plugs, you can switch them off automatically using the Smartzone System and really save.

Set up energy saving rules:

  1. When I set the Alarm Away or I exit my geo-fence switch everything off. When I return home and enter my geo-fence or I dis-arm the system turn them all back on again.
  2. When I Arm Stay at night turn off all the lights and appliances downstairs and switch on the lights in the bedrooms.

Save energy and time automatically without having to think about it.

5: TRICK BURGLARS INTO THINKING SOMEONE’S HOME WHEN YOU ARE AWAY: 

If you’re going out to work or just for a walk, or heading overseas for a holiday, you might want to create the illusion that you are home. You can do this by setting up a smart plug with a lamp near a window or in the front hall by the door.

All you have to do is connect your lamp to a smart plug and let Smartzone take care of the rest. Set schedules to turn lights on and off to give the impression you are home, and even use our cool holiday feature that will vary these on and off times daily by as much as 45 minutes so as not to look routine.

Set up a rule to turn on the lights if somebody rings your video doorbell or the motion sensor detects motion in the front garden. Having lights come on for 10 minutes like this is a great deterrent and will give a potential baddie pause for thought about coming into your home. It’s also very comforting to have lights on in the hall and at the front door before you get there.

Leave home relaxed knowing that Smartzone is helping your home look after itself.

6: AUTOMATE LIGHTING USING YOUR ALARM’S SENSORS: 

Another really great feature of the Smartzone system is the ability to set simple rules that can turn on and off lights using door or window sensors. All the sensors on the Smartzone Security System are active all the time, not just when the system is armed away.

When you arrive home for example, set a rule that turns on the lights in the hall when you open your front door, or even better, set the lights to come on when you enter your geo-fence and have the lights on before you arrive home.

Letting the dog out the back for a quick run in the garden at night, then make the outside lights come on simply by opening the

7: OPTIMISE YOUR CHARGING STATIONS:

Your need to charge things quite often such as mobile phones, tablets, even the Kid’s games but not for 8 hours plus at a time. In fact, it’s bad for their batteries if they remain on charge for longer than necessary.

Batteries do not enjoy eternal life. Most smartphone manufacturers say their devices rate their batteries at 300-500 cycles. But, for many of us, it’s built into our routine to put our phone on the charger when we go to bed so that it’s fully charged and ready to go for the next day.

What we really need, is the ability to let our phone or tablet charge for 2 – 3 hours before the power is disconnected. A smart plug lets you do just this. By connecting your charger through a smart plug, you can run it on a schedule that automatically turns off the power at a set time. This could save you hundreds of dollars in new batteries (or thousands in new phones!) over time and eliminates the risk of fire due to faulty chargers.

8: LIMIT YOUR CHILDREN’S SCREEN TIME:

Tired of the weekday battle of getting your children to do their homework or to go outside for a while? That’s sure to have multiplied at this time when all the children are home because we are all at home right now.

Having trouble enforcing rules on how much TV can be watched, or how long the Xbox or play station can be played? Smart plugs can help you manage your children’s screen time and put into place a healthy home school and after-school routine.

Here’s a great example: Let your kid’s zone out and rest for half an hour when they first arrive home. Next, turn the power off to the TV set up for an hour or two, and make this ‘homework and outdoor playtime’.

Put the power back on for the hour before dinner so you have the headspace and quiet to get that sorted. Finally, make sure no one is getting up in the night to play games when they are meant to be sleeping – turn off the power when you go to bed.

The simple use of a smart plug on a schedule makes it easy to put a regular routine like this into practice!

 9: START COOKING DINNER – WHILE YOU ARE AT WORK (IN THE OTHER ROOM)! 

Do you have a slow cooker? Have you ever been frustrated by the odd length of time you might need to put it on for to cook your meal? 6 – 8 hours on low or 4 – 6 hours on high works in theory, but when you leave for work at 7am and get back at 6pm, a solid 11 hours will pass and your meal is going to be well over-done.

In the wonderful world of smart plugs, you can set a reminder in your phone to turn on your cooker at exactly the right time. This way, your meal will be perfectly stewed when you arrive home ravenous after a big day.

10: THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS. TIME TO GET STARTED. 

What to get more control? Then Smart Plugs are perfect and give you more control than ever.

Or, if you just want to save energy, save money, and not have to worry about remembering which switches you turned on that day, you can let the Smartzone take care of that, while you get on with more important things for You and Your Family right now.

Smartzone – Safer, Smarter, Simpler Savings.

 

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How Business Insights Help You Make Wiser Business Decisions

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Business Insights Automation Cork

 

The development of technology has grown rapidly in a short time frame. Thankfully, for business owners this means work life has become slightly less stressful. Technology has opened up avenues for new and efficient methods of managing businesses. 

Smart technology in particular has seen a steep rise in popularity due to its ease of use, security and energy management capabilities and its ability to be used remotely. One specific feature favoured by business owners is business insights. 

By collecting information from each product in the business, Business Automation can generate informed reports. These reports are helping business owners to make informed decisions to best benefit their business, employees and customers. 

Reports can be easily accessed through the business automation app – anytime and from anywhere. Streamlined management is gained through the relevant and useful nature of these reports. 

Here are the ways in how Smart Insights can help you to manage your business

 

Identify Peak Periods of Activity 

Shop and restaurant owners understand the frustration of not having sufficient staff on at peak times. A lot of the time it may be difficult for employers to identify the business’s busiest times as they can’t be present every second of every day. Calling staff to come in last minute is not the most effective solution either, and can lead to a lot of phone calls and a lot of frustration. 

By viewing reports you can view understand the busy times at your business and use this to make assumptions based on patterns. This helps to ensure that you have sufficient staff for the effective and smooth running of your operation. 

 

Monitor Open Times 

Are you concerned that employees may be opening up late or closing up early while management is not present? Through the app you can view trends in the opening and closing hours of your business. 

Smart notifications inform you of who is arming and disarming the system. Also, if you have smart access you can pinpoint the exact time each employee arrived and left work. 

Stay Informed with Activity Summaries

Activity summaries are incredibly useful in helping to identify and pinpoint unexpected or unusual activity. View if doors have been or are regularly left open which can cause energy wastage or act as a safety concern. 

Activity summaries also inform if anyone has entered the business after hours, and allows you to keep a track record of which employees are disarming the alarm system. 

 

Simple Report Interface 

Reporting is made simple with the user friendly interface from Alarm.com. If you are the owner of one business premises then, not only can you manage all sites in one location, but you can also generate reports for all your sites. 

Business owners can easily set up a reporting schedule and have reports generated daily, weekly or monthly. 

 

Interested in knowing more about Smart Business Insights with Business Automation? Call our Sales Team on 0214966248 or fill out the form below. 

 

 

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5 Ways To Save Money With A Smart Thermostat

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With the rising cost of heating your home, it’s understandable that Irish homeowners are searching for ways to reduce their heating bills. 

Ireland’s weather can make it difficult to cut how much you’re spending on heating your home without the need to layer yourself with blankets. 

Smart Heating controls are an effective way in reducing the amount of energy needed to warm your home and hot water, without having to sacrifice comfort. Smart thermostats can save you an average of €300 per year, and still keep your home cozy throughout the day. 

Here are 5 ways how you can save with a Smart Thermostat. 

 

  1. SEAI Grant Application

If your home was built before 2006 then we have good news for you. Homes built prior to 2006, and have not had a grant claimed it before can claim the SEAI Grant for Heating Controls. 

At Smartzone, we take your MPRN number during the Free Home Assessment and then look into whether your home is grant applicable. If so, our team will apply for the grant on your behalf meaning you get Smart Heating Controls, from us, at a seriously reduced price. 

 

  1. Zoned Heating Controls 

Zoned Heating Controls warm your home with greater efficiency. By implementing three zone you can heat the downstairs and upstairs of your home, as well as hot water separately. 

Heat rises meaning that downstairs is normally colder than upstairs. Without a thermostat, or any sort of heating controls you are heating all areas of the home at the same temperature when it is not needed. 

With Smart Heating Controls you can heat downstairs at a lower temperature than upstairs so you use less energy in heating your home to a desired temperature. 

 

  1. Reduce energy use when you leave home

Our Smart Thermostat works in harmony with our Smart Home Security bundle. Sounds strange, but using advanced technology the thermostat communicates with the system and know if you’re at home or not. 

When you arm your system the Smart Home hub speaks to our Smart Heating Controls, letting your thermostat know you’ve left the house. The thermostat will then reduce temperatures as you don’t need your house heating as if you were at home. 

 

  1. Schedule for comfort

You can schedule when you want your heating to turn on/ off or increase and decrease temperatures at certain times of the day. Lower temperatures at bedtime and have them increase for a short period when you wake. All you have to do is set the schedules once so you don’t have to keep changing the thermostat on your phone every time you want a warmer or cooler home. 

 

  1. Save Energy on the move 

GeoFencing Smart Thermostat Ireland

GeoFencing is what makes any smart home truly intelligent. By setting a perimeter around your house, your smart home will perform actions when you leave or enter this area. 

By using GeoFencing with your heating controls, your system will automatically lower temperatures when you leave home and increase them when you come back. 

Want to see savings? 

Smart Home was designed for user convenience and security, but also to save money. And, using Smart technology to reduce the energy use in your home means that you save significantly on your heating bills. 

If you want to save with a Smart Thermostat call us on 0214966248 or fill out the form below.

 



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Why Your Small Business Needs An Energy Audit

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Smartzone Energy Audit Ireland save energy

The Sustainable Authority of Ireland have so far been successful in helping both the residential and commercial sector to reduce their energy use. One way in doing so has been the introduction of an Energy Audit Scheme. This scheme requires larger business to undertake surveys or inspection to determine whether they are managing their energy sufficiently. 

Essentially, an energy audit analyses how and where a business’s energy is used. This determines any energy wastage and helps to identify how to correct this in the best and most ethical way. 

While the audit is not a legal requirement for small to medium sized Irish businesses, it’s no harm for these types of organisations to perform their own audits. 

Why perform an energy audit? 

With a busy schedule, it can become almost impossible to keep track of energy usage in your business. 

Performing an audit brings focus back and highlights any urgent issues, or behaviours which are causing  unnecessary energy wastage. An audit is essential for two main reasons. 

  1. Reducing carbon emissions which benefits the planet
  2. Significantly lowering energy costs helps protect and improve your business’s bottom line. 

 

How to perform your own energy audit

Energy audits can easily be completed by having a team member walk around the premises with a checklist of things to look out for. Your checklist should include (but be limited to): 

  • Lights 
  • Heating 
  • Water Use 
  • Electrical Equipment

Smartzone energy audit lights

Turn the lights off

Are lights left on when no one is in the room? Your business should consider placing reminders for staff to switch off lights when a room is left empty, and at the close of business (when lights aren’t required to remain switched on).

It’s also wise to think about switching your lights to Smart LEDs Bulbs. LEDs efficiently use 60 – 75% less energy than traditional, incandescent light bulbs. By installing Smart LEDs, you can further reduce the energy needed to light the building by having the control to remotely switch on and off lights and set schedules so lights are never accidentally left on again. 

 

Keep the heat in

Heating a premises can be incredibly costly, especially when winters in Ireland seem to last almost all year long. It’s often habit of employees to set high temperatures on the thermostat in the hopes that the room will heat faster – but usually ends up in employees sweltering not long after. 

There are a few small tips to follow to ensure you’re making the most of your thermostat including keeping boxes or items which may restrict air circulation away from radiators, or closing blinds at the end of the day to prevent warm air from escaping. 

Smart Thermostats are effective in reducing energy use by up to 20% compared to traditional thermostats. How? These thermostats have features that traditional thermostats do not. These include employee lockout so only you can control temperatures, scheduling for temperatures to decrease when the premises is empty and receiving alerts when the thermostat has been adjusted so you can remotely change it back. 

Smartzone reduce water Energy Audit

Reduce your water use 

It’s a good idea to inspect all piping, taps and toilets to ensure there is no presence of leaks. A leak, no matter how small, is an unnecessary wastage of water. During your energy audits keep a close eye on your water meter to see if there are any significant changes or to see if your business might be using far more water than previously thought. If your business is billed according to meter ratings, then taking measures to reduce water use will be financially rewarding for your business. 

 

Switch off electronics 

Of course it is essential to leave some electronics on overnight to ensure the most streamlined running of the business. However, not everything needs to be left on. Computers, chargers, printers, lamps etc. should all be switched off at the wall at the close of business. Leaving devices on standby is insufficient as they are still using energy when not needed. 

Alternatively, you could consider Smart Plugs. Smart plugs allow you to remotely shut off appliances when needed, or, just like the thermostat, you can set schedules so that electronics are shut down at a specific time of day. 

 

Performing energy audits are a smart way for your business to play its part in reducing its carbon footprint, while also benefiting the organisation’s bottom line. Energy management is a key factor of Smart Business Automation. If you would like to know more about how Business Automation and Smartzone can help your business, feel free to contact our sales team on 0214966248 or fill out the form below and we will get back to you.

 

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What is the SEAI Better Energy Homes Heating Control Grant?

Heating Controls SEAI

 

The SEAI ‘Better Energy Homes Heating Controls’ grant – it’s a bit of a mouthful and can leave many homeowners scratching their heads. 

However, there is nothing complicated about the grant, and it is far more straightforward than many would believe. This grant, and many others offered by the SEAI, are helping create energy efficient homes around the country. So too is Smartzone by helping owners with the Heating Controls grant application. 

So who are the SEAI, what is the Heating Controls grant and how can you use it to create an energy efficient home?

 

Who are the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland?

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) was founded by the Irish government in 2017. The SEAI was established with the core aim of revolutionising how we use energy in Ireland. 

Working with businesses and homeowners, the SEAI hopes to achieve energy sustainability and encourage the transition to clean energy usage. 

The Authority offer various grants to homeowners so they can renovate their homes to make them more energy efficient. These include grants for insulation, heating pumps, solar panels, and of course, heating controls.

 

What does the Heating Controls grant involve? 

A massive 80% of the energy used in Irish homes is to heat both space and water. This means that the emissions from heating methods can be concerning (depending on the method), hence the reason why the SEAI offer grants for heating controls to the public. 

The grant in question is offered to homeowners who occupy homes that were built before 2006, and have not claimed the heating controls grant before. If your home was built in 2006 or after, it would have been constructed according to newer building regulations and wouldn’t require significant energy upgrades. 

Heating controls are effective in reducing the energy used in your home by up to 20%, saving you an average of €300 per year on your energy bills. Homeowners who can avail of the grant continue to save significantly as the SEAI offers a cash grant of €700 for two and three zone heating controls. 

 

Smartzone SEAI Heating Controls GrantWhere does Smartzone come into this? 

Smart Home is designed for convenience and control. Smart Home combines various aspects of the home – including heating controls. Smartzone offer Smart Heating Controls both as part of our Smart Home Security Package and as a standalone product. 

Due to our partnership with the SEAI we can offer Smart Heating Controls at a seriously discounted price when a customer’s home is eligible for the grant. 

In order to do so, we apply for the grant on behalf of the customer. This eliminates the stress of the paperwork – after all, we are all about making the lives of our customers easier. 

During the Free Home Assessment our assessors can check to see if the house was built before 2006. All we need then is the customers MPRN number which can be found on the top of any electricity or gas bill. It’s that easy! 

Our current Smart Heating Controls offer gives you 3 zone controls and two Free Smart Plugs for only €399!

 

 

For more information on Smart Heating Controls our Customer Service Team on 021496248 or check out our website on www.smartzone.ie. 

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QUIZ: How Green Are You?

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Think you have your Eco-Friendly knowledge up to scratch? Take the quiz to find out!


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Stay in Control of your Business with Smart Security and Business Automation

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Smartzone Smart Business Solutions Ireland

 

Smart phones; they are the tool that allow you to communicate with colleagues and staff easily and efficiently. They are also effective for streamlined control of business premises without any hassle.

Smartzone’s Smart Business Security and Automation provides Professional Grade Security, Energy Management, Video Surveillance and Access Control all integrated into the single app for convenience and superior managing methods.

It may not be possible for you to be on site every day. The app allows you to take control over all the aspects mentioned above ensuring the smooth running of the property. You’ll stay informed and gain direct line of sight into your business at all times.

Business owners are choosing to automate their business with Smartzone’s Smart Solutions. Here are five reasons why.

 

1: Security without the doorway dash

Old alarm systems just aren’t as effective as they should be. To arm a traditional keypad you have to enter the pin and make a quick exit to prevent the alarm being triggered.

With Smartzone’s Smart Security arming your system only takes a few taps of the app. It is not necessary to arm the system before you step outside the door. Simply set the system to ‘arm’ when ready. Smart alarms eliminate that stressful closing-time “doorway dash”.

No need to worry about employees forgetting to arm the alarm either. You can turn on arming reminders or use auto-arming giving you peace of mind.

 

Smart Business Solutions Smartzone Dublin

2: Alerts that keep you in the know   

The Smart Business app keeps you awards of any important activity that you might otherwise miss.

If something out of the ordinary occurs the app will notify you immediately. Door left open, someone entering a prohibited zone? Don’t panic. You will know the moment this type of activity occurs giving you time to react and address the issue. Daily alerts can also be set up to confirm important details, such as opening times.

 

3: Video feeds for instant insight

Video feeds can be directly viewed from your phone or tablet making it easier than ever to see what is happening in your business.

Live view or watch recorded video footage all from the app. The integrated activity history makes locating specific clips a straightforward process. You can also download clips to your phone, from cloud storage, for you to view at a later stage.

 

Video Surveillance Business Ireland

4: Remote access control for convenience

Lock and unlock your premises from anywhere in the world with Smart Access Control. Employee forgotten their smart lock user code? Simply unlock the door from your phone.

 

5: One-touch opening and closing with Scenes

Scenes is one of the most convenient features offered in the Smart Business App.

Scenes send commands to your Smart Security devices to complete specific tasks. The feature can perform tasks such as arming the system and locking the doors at the end of the day.

The app offers two Scenes – Open and Close, but you can also create and customise new Scenes, using your alarm, locks, lights and thermostat according to the needs of your business and employees.

 

Business Security Smart Ireland

 

Want to implement Smart Business Automation?

Our Smart Business solutions integrates Professional Grade Security, Access Control, Energy Management and Video Surveillance all into one centralised smart app or web dashboard.

If you are interested in upgrading your business or just looking for more information, call our Sales team today on 0214966248.

 

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Smartzone’s Smart Business Automation | Professional Grade Security, Video Monitoring, Energy Management and More

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