UK Energy Use

The way a lot of home appliances work these days is that when you want it, you turn it on, and when you’re done, you turn it off. A light is a good example where you can turn it on and forget to turn it off, meaning that regardless of who is at home, the light will be on and wasting energy and racking up an expensive bill when the time comes.

However this is something that the UK government is hoping to avoid, and with our appliances starting to get smarter, they are looking at a future where smart homes will be connected to the country’s energy grid to help balance the supply and demand for energy. This means that when paired with smart appliances, it could alert users to when electricity is cheap and suggest that maybe now is a good time to use the washing machine/dryer.

Or it could inform users that they should turn off certain appliances as the grid is currently experiencing a bit of stress, so what they don’t need can be disabled temporarily. Of course this also means that manufacturers of such smart devices need to take these things into consideration, but it is a good idea and it is also a good start.