Saving electricity with Smart Home: why the digital helpers are becoming increasingly popular

29. September 2022 Published by Jana Greyling

Energy prices are rising and the fall is approaching: Just about all consumers are faced with the question of how they can save heat and electricity. Smart home technologies play an important role in this context. The number of people who want to increase energy efficiency in their homes and reduce consumption with the aid of smart applications has already risen sharply over the past twelve months,. Smart heating and hot water solutions, for example, can detect whether anyone is at home and regulate the temperatures appropriately. They also adjust the temperature to reflect whether or not rooms are being aired. According to the digital association Bitkom, the heating system usually consumes far less energy than when it is controlled manually. The association presented the results of its representative survey of 1,315 people in Germany to coincide with the start of IFA 2022.

Bitkom’s President Achim Berg sums up the results: “Smart home technologies can make a very concrete contribution to using less heating energy and electricity. They’re much more than a technical gimmick. They increase energy efficiency, provide more safety and security, and ultimately also enhance convenience and the quality of life in your own four walls. Intelligent heating and cooling technology is not only worthwhile for homeowners. Smart thermostats can also be installed in rented apartments in just a few simple steps and be easily taken with you when you move.”

Smart thermostats and the like

A look at the sales figures for smart products shows that the number of people who want to increase energy efficiency in their homes and reduce consumption with the aid of intelligent applications has already risen significantly in the past twelve months: A quarter (25 percent) of German citizens now use smart radiator thermostats. That figure was just 17 percent in 2021 and 15 percent in 2020. Smart thermostats regulate the temperature in the home depending on whether it is being aired, whether people are present and sometimes even taking the weather forecast into account – meaning that the heating system generally consumes much less energy than when it is controlled manually.

Without a doubt, the smart home also ranks highly in the favor of consumers thanks to intelligent automation processes. Like, for example, intelligent roller shutters or sunblinds that are automatically lowered when the sunlight is strong so as to keep rooms cool. 21 percent of respondents had such devices in 2021, compared to just 13 percent the year before. 21 percent of respondents also use smart or WLAN sockets to avoid power-guzzling standby mode as standard. By comparison, that figure in 2021 was just 16 percent. And 13 percent track the power consumption of their appliances using smart meters (2021: eight percent).

Smart home in the house

According to the Bitkom study, another important area in the smart home market is security. A quarter of Germans (25 percent) use smart video surveillance to protect themselves or their own home from burglars, for example (2021: 23 percent). 24 percent have installed a smart alarm system (2021: 21 percent). Making their own house or apartment safer is a crucial objective in using such technologies for the majority of smart home users (74 percent).

However, the study also shows that only 18 percent of seniors in Germany leverage the advantages a smart home boasts. That could be because they do not look into the smart solutions on offer, do not understand them or no one explains them to them. Without the right advice, there’s often a lack of understanding of the benefits of smart solutions, as Bitkom’s president Berg points out. For example, smart home emergency call systems are only used by six percent of those surveyed and smart smoke detectors are so far needed by only every one-in-twenty respondents. That’s not entirely understandable, because “sensors can, for example, detect when a person has fallen and automatically summon help. Smart home technologies help people lead a self-determined life in their own four walls for longer,” emphasizes Achim Berg. The 65-plus generation is still relatively underrepresented among the users of smart home technologies: Just 18 percent of them use such devices. Nevertheless, this figure has tripled since 2018, when it was just six percent.

More convenience with Gigaset & Home Connect Plus

Convenience is very clearly a key purchase criterion: 74 percent of respondents use smart home applications to enhance convenience and their quality of life. Until now, it wasn’t always so easy as regards convenience because not all smart products also communicated with each other. Gigaset is currently demonstrating how this can be done with the Home Connect Plus app from Bosch. It allows Gigaset’s smart products to be connected with smart home appliances and systems from other manufacturers. Home Connect Plus enables you to connect the various devices, control them centrally and flexibly adapt them to your own needs easily and intuitively. The advantages of Home Connect Plus are:

Central platform for all devices
Countless possible combinations of devices thanks to extensive compatibility. With Home Connect Plus, you can control your smart home with just one app – very easily and conveniently.
Individually personalized
The app adapts to the personal needs of smart home users. Customizable automation options transform the interaction of Gigaset Smart Home with other systems into a new smart home experience.
Free all-in-one solution
The Home Connect Plus app comes free of charge. There are no subscriptions, hidden costs or in-app purchases. Simply download it, set it up and experience the smart home in a new way.

Gigaset Smart Home and Home Connect Plus make your home not only safe, secure and efficient, but also extremely convenient. For example, when you leave the home and lock the door with the smart door lock via the app, the alarm of the Gigaset Smart Home solution is automatically activated, the smart thermostats turn down the radiators, and the robovac begins its day’s work.