Wishing for a Smarter Solar Home? There are Apps for That!

With a Sunrun solar system installed at your home, you’re ahead of the times as a smart homeowner living in a smart home. Even then there’s a whole new breed of apps out there that can transform your home from the Flinstones era to the Jetsons age.

Smart home technology powered by apps are here to help you run an even more energy-efficient home. Here’s a quick guide to what they are, how they work, and how they can help you save money.

What are Smart Home Apps?

From remote thermostat control to more advanced features like security system automation, smart home apps can make home management a seamless, connected experience. When it comes to enjoying your Sunrun solar system and managing your energy efficiently, these apps can be a powerful ally in giving you control over your energy usage and savings.

How Do They Work?  

Smart home apps can work with specific smart home products or within an ecosystem of smart devices. These apps communicate with sensors placed within appliances, household items and outlets to help you understand and manage how they perform. Many smart home apps and devices are also unsurprisingly smart enough to work across different operating systems and smartphones. Now you can program items as small as lamps and as big and vital as garage doors from a smart watch, phone, tablet, computer and in certain cases through the sound of your voice.

Smart Home Apps and Energy Efficiency

Smart home platforms can be the fitness trackers for your home. That’s because, in addition to helping you control your home, you can keep track of how much energy you’re using. By leveraging these tools, you can make smarter decisions about your usage to create more opportunities for savings.

Here are three ways smart home apps help you take control of energy use:

Schedule

Imagine that you’re leaving town for the week, and by barely lifting a finger you program your house to lock your doors, turn off your water heater and switch on your security system. You can leave home with peace of mind knowing your home is in order and that you’re not wasting energy. Home automation apps and devices allow you to control and schedule household items via your smartphone, tablet, computer or voice.

Adapt

In addition to being able to easily switch household items on and off, there are apps connected with smart appliances that enable more control of managing your energy usage. If your utility charges time-based rates, some apps can program your smart air conditioner and refrigerator to automatically shift energy use to the time of day when rates are lower.

Monitor

Is it your new electric car that’s driving up your electric bill or are your kids playing too many video games? Now you can understand how your household is using energy through apps that report and notify you of your usage. You can evaluate your usage and make immediate decisions to take control of your home and your savings.

Smart Home Apps and Sunrun

Sunrun actually has its very own smart home app: mySunrun. Currently, you can track your system production, submit referrals and tweet out your production stats. Here at Sunrun, we’re all for the power of smart home apps and the ability to take control of your energy usage, so stay tuned in the future for more powerful updates to the mySunrun app. In the meantime, download the app available for Android and iOS.

You’re in Control

Imagine a time when you will have full control over your home and your energy usage. That’s closer than ever with smart home apps available at your fingertips. And to think that all of it will run on clean, affordable solar energy with your Sunrun solar system!

Daphne Wu is a Customer Experience Marketing Manager at Sunrun.