When autumn is in full swing and temperatures are dropping, preparing for winter is top of mind for most homeowners. Those with second homes and vacation rentals have even more to think about, since winter weather can lead to unnecessarily high utility bills and, in the worst-case scenario, disasters like burst pipes and cracked windows due to thermal stress.

Getting your property ready for winter can be an arduous task, especially for those who have to keep an eye on multiple properties in different locations. Regular visits to vacant properties are often inconvenient and cost money in fuel and transport. Furthermore, if you’re thinking of escaping the cold to warmer climes, you would ordinarily need to have someone you trust to check in on the place regularly. 

Fortunately, smart home technology can make all the difference by giving you complete control over your property’s utilities from afar. With a fully integrated system that incorporates water, gas, and electricity consumption monitoring, you can get your home ready for winter and keep potential disasters at bay all via the smartphone in your pocket. 

Here are three ways PowerX smart home energy automation helps you prepare for winter:

1. Monitor your energy consumption

The PowerX smart home energy system consists of three main components: the sensors, the internet-connected hub, and the mobile app that you use to monitor and control your utilities. Sensors are small, connected devices that you can typically install within 30 minutes to an hour. 

The sensors will constantly relay real-time information, such as temperatures, electricity and water consumption, to the central hub. The central hub, in turn, connects wirelessly to your internet router, which transmits the information securely to your mobile app. That way, so long as you’re online, you always have a live view of how much energy you’re using. 

2. Optimize for peak efficiency

Those living in colder regions of the country are all too familiar with the often crippling costs of heating a place during the winter months. It isn’t helped by the fact that utility prices generally keep on increasing too. While turning your thermostat down by a degree or two can save quite a bit, smart home energy systems go even further.

The most advanced smart home utility systems such as PowerX use machine learning to give you a 360° view of your utilities and suggest various ways you can optimize for peak efficiency. For example, the AI might identify always-on devices that could be safely turned off or areas of the house that are overheated or underheated. While you still need to keep your property properly heated to prevent pipe freezes and damaged windows, these optimization suggestions can help offset the cost of doing so.

3. Receive automated alerts

The opportunity to create and receive automated and custom alerts is easily the most important benefit of using smart home energy systems to protect your property during the winter. After all, even a brief spell of bitterly cold weather can cause enormous damage in short order in the form of burst pipes and flooding.

If the sensors detect any discrepancies in their readings, you will instantly receive an alert. This gives you a chance to resolve the issue before it results in serious damage. For example, if a pipe is reporting a very low temperature, you’ll have a chance to act before it freezes and bursts.

PowerX provides fully automated smart whole-home monitoring solutions using the energy-efficient LoRa connectivity standard. Our system helps you monitor and optimize energy consumption and proactively avoid disasters like frozen pipes, leaks. Get in touch today to find out more.