Manufacturers are making it easier than ever for environmentally conscious consumers to live a greener life and they’re doing in it such a way we don’t have to make big sacrifices or shun cutting-edge technology.

Smart technology is turning the everyday, mundane, energy hungry appliance into cost effective and eco-friendly must haves. In 2012 LG unveiled an entire line of smart appliances including a diet tracking refrigerator and an eco-friendly washing machine with a bigger drum and ultra-fast cycles and in the three years since then every appliance manufacturer has followed suit including self-diagnosing washing machines designed to cut down on costly call-outs for easily fixed problems.

Smaller, cheaper devices like extension cords and power plates have hit the shelves with built in USB ports and automatic cut-offs for when batteries are fully charged saving hundreds of pounds over their lifetime for users who tend to leave phones charging overnight.

Energy monitors are being offered for free to households who agree to have free smart meters installed. And why wouldn’t you? This technology allows you to see exactly how much energy you are using and the clever software can decipher and display this data in a multitude of ways. You can see exactly how much your heating is costing you and compare it to when you are actually in the house and programme your heating accordingly. Better still, you can put your cost savings towards an electric heating system, VeriSmart Heating have a great range of plug and play easy install products, and have an even more environmentally friendly and efficient method of heating your home. Combine this with a green energy tariff and you’ll be shedding tonnes off your carbon footprint every year.

Gas and electricity aren’t the only utilities that are benefiting from green technology. Water conservation has been at the slow end of modern technological advances when it comes to residential properties but that is starting to change with smart systems that monitor how long you spend in the shower so you can use your water more efficiently. A more fun piece of shower tech is the water powered shower radio so you can rock out at no extra cost when suddsing your hair.

Smart TVs are a small contribution to the environment because they eradicate the need for multiple devices which all use their own power, all needed raw materials to build and all came with accessories and wires you’ll never use and would probably end up in landfill. In the long-term these multi-faceted devices will help cut down on WEEE. Modern TVs are consuming as low as 32kWh based on 5 hours of daily use whereas older CRT TVs would consume anything up to 164kWh with most coming in in the high 80s. Old tube TVs were massive and did very little to justify the energy they used and are put to shame by new TVs being able to access on-demand video, play games, host apps, surf the internet, stream and receive live TV on less than a third of the energy in some cases.

Technology is making us all greener and most of us didn’t even know it!