Energy savings from automation are real, but they are unevenly distributed. Some rules save a fortune, some save pennies, and a few popular ones save nothing at all. Here is what our monitoring data consistently shows.
1. Occupancy-driven setback
Heating or cooling empty rooms is the largest single waste in most homes. Presence-based setback, with a modest three-degree drop rather than a dramatic one, delivers the biggest measured saving of any rule we deploy.
2. Solar-tracked shading
Blocking heat before it enters the glass is far cheaper than removing it afterwards. On sun-facing façades this alone can cut summer cooling load by up to a third.
3. Hot water scheduling
Most cylinders are reheated on a schedule set years ago and never revisited. Matching heating to genuine usage patterns is quick to implement and immediately visible on the bill.
4. Load shifting to cheap tariff windows
Dishwashers, laundry, EV charging and water heating moved into off-peak hours changes nothing about your day and a great deal about your monthly cost.
5. Standby elimination
Media racks, office equipment and garage circuits left permanently energised are surprisingly expensive. A goodnight scene that powers down non-essential circuits removes that draw entirely.
6. Lighting occupancy and daylight harvesting
Corridors, utility rooms and garages should never be lit by human memory. Add daylight sensing near windows and the lighting bill drops again.
7. Anomaly alerting
Circuit-level monitoring catches the failing freezer, the stuck immersion heater and the pump running twenty-four hours a day. These faults would otherwise run for months unnoticed.
You cannot reduce what you cannot see. Monitoring is not a feature — it is the prerequisite.
Start with monitoring, run it for one full month, then automate against what the data actually shows. Guessing is expensive.