How modern technology can make your home ‘Greener’.

Arthur investigates how new developments in ‘Green Technology’ work to make the home more environmentally friendly.

Recent advances in technology have meant that making a home ‘greener’ no longer means adding unsightly solar panels to your roof or buying expensive recycling gadgets. A wide range of eco-friendly tools are now available for everyone.

Energy saving devices to make your home more environmentally friendly don’t always have to involve a major investment. According to the CEA, consumer electronics account for 13% of home energy use and can cost up to £145 a month by just being left to charged or on standby. There are several companies, including ‘Green Plug’, that give devices the exact amount of power they need. Once fully charged, “Green Plug” automatically cuts the power, saving energy and money, and a worthwhile investment for the environmentally conscious.

The  US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in everyday rubbish, yet the mess and smell put many people off having a compost pile at home. New technology can help here, by simplifying the process of reducing all the food that ends up on our landslide. The ‘Zera Food Recycler’ by Whirlpool can break down a week’s worth of scraps into homemade fertilizer within 24 hours. The design of these products has also improved significantly, most food recyclers now look more like average bins.

By installing a number of energy saving technologies in your home, you may begin to wonder just how much energy in total you’re saving – Neurio Technology can help. Neurio offers a home energy monitor that lets you use your smart phone to track your energy usage in real time. To add the monitor to your home’s electrical panel, all you need is to connect the app to the monitor and your phone will show you graphs of how much energy each appliance is using and length of usage. It’s a great way to see an overview on how you use energy, and ways you could save even more.

These new advancements have occurred outside the home too. Many industries that once heavily relied on paperwork are now moving everything to websites and apps, making it not only more convenient and cheaper, but much better for the environment. For example, the property industry, which used to rely heavily on paperwork is shifting more and more towards technology. Property management software can help landlord’s keep track of expiring EPC certificates, among many other checks like gas safety and general maintenance.

If you are a landlord looking for a way to track workorders, consider using Arthur Online property management software. We have a range of free mobile apps allowing you to assign workorders to contractors and track the status of maintenance repairs, cutting down on emails and phone calls.

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