CONNECTED HOME WITH TELUS

I’m very excited to be partnering with TELUS today to be part of their campaign on sustainable technology. Over at TELUS, earth day is more than just a one-day event, their team works tirelessly to integrate sustainability into nearly every aspect of their business year round. That’s something I can stand behind!

The team over at TELUS challenged my husband and I to make our home smarter by integrating connected home technology. Not only would it make our lives easier and more convenient, but we would have the capability to make our home (and technology) really work for us by brining more awareness to how much energy our home uses over time. With the gracious help of TELUS, we were able to hook up a Nest Thermostat and Philips Hue Lighting system in our home. We’ve had the Nest Protect (Industrial-Grade smoke & carbon monoxide sensor) for a few years, so we were already familiar with how easy the Nest products are to install and manage from your smartphone. To give you a little background:

The Nest Learning Thermostat automatically adapts to your lifestyle. After just one week of use, it will program itself based on your daily routine and know how to make your heating and cooling system more efficient, reducing your energy usage and saving you money on your energy bill. For example; if you like to turn down the heat on your way to bed, Nest takes note and starts building your schedule – cozy in the afternoon, cool at night. Or say you’ve been turning up the heat a little for the past few days during your breakfast routine, Nest learns these behaviours and now warms up the house as you get out of bed. Then you’re off to work, the Nest Thermostat turns itself to Auto-Away to save energy after you’ve left the house. Magic! And in the event you wanted to check in and make any adjustments accordingly , just log on to your Nest App on your smartphone and the Nest Thermostat adjusts quickly at home.

The Philips Hue Lightning system offers innovative solutions to welcome you home, turn your lights on when you’re away and turn the lights off in case you forget (With geofencing technology, you can save energy by remotely turning them off from your smartphone). You can set the right ambiance for any occasion with a range of beautiful, natural white light by using the app to set any shade of white light, from cool energizing daylight to relaxing warm white light. This system also allows you to automate your lights completely to make it seem like you’re home even when you’re not.

Data collected from a Smart Home research study concluded that only 34% of Canadians own a smart home device, however that number is expected to double in two years. If you think about it, it’s tough to find someone who doesn’t have a smartphone these days.. So why not use the technologies to make our homes smarter, more efficient and more cost effective too?

The part I love most about this is that everything is manageable and in your control remotely, so for me working on-the-go most days, this is a huge plus. It only takes about 30 minutes to install everything into your home and devices and you’re set to go. I am able to monitor our energy consumption, adjust our lighting and heat as needed and make sure our home is protected with nest, all from my iPhone! Total piece of mind, which allows me to focus on my work.