Ten Smart Home Features That Are Actually Worth Buying
Ten Smart Home Features That Are Actually Worth Buying
A Smart Home Should Reduce Bills—not Simply Add More Gadgets
The phrase “smart home” can describe almost anything connected to an app: light bulbs that change colour, curtains that open automatically, speakers that answer questions and refrigerators that send notifications.
Some of these products are entertaining. Some are convenient. Very few, however, produce measurable financial savings.
A genuinely useful smart-home device should do at least one of three things:
Identify where energy is being wasted.
Automatically stop unnecessary consumption.
Move energy use into cheaper periods.
If it does none of these, it may still be enjoyable—but it is probably not an energy-saving investment.
This distinction matters because every smart device consumes electricity, costs money to buy and may eventually need replacing. Buying dozens of connected products in the hope of becoming greener can easily become another form of consumption.
The best smart home is not necessarily the one with the most technology. It is the one that uses technology selectively, where the savings can be measured.
Start With a Simple Payback Test
Before buying any smart-home product, estimate what it could realistically save.
For a device that switches off an electrical load, use:
Annual saving = power avoided in kW × hours avoided each day × 365 × electricity price
For example, suppose a collection of entertainment equipment consumes 20 watts on standby:
0.020 kW × 20 hours × 365 = 146 kWh a year
Multiply that by the electricity unit price to estimate the annual saving.
For equipment that shifts consumption from an expensive tariff period to a cheaper one, use:
Annual saving = electricity shifted × difference between peak and off-peak prices
Then calculate:
Payback period = purchase and installation cost ÷ annual saving
This does not need to be perfectly accurate. Its purpose is to stop us spending £100 to save £5 a year.
It also encourages an important habit: measure first, automate second.
1. A Smart Thermostat That Controls Heating Properly
Heating is normally the first place to look because heating and hot water account for more than half of a typical household’s energy spending. Proper programmers, thermostats and radiator controls can therefore have a much greater effect than automating a few lights.
A smart thermostat becomes worthwhile when it prevents the home from being heated unnecessarily.
Useful features include:
adjustable heating schedules;
automatic “away” settings;
remote control when plans change;
learning how quickly the house warms up;
weather or load compensation;
clear records of heating activity.
Imagine setting the heating to come on at 4.30 pm because you normally arrive home at 5 pm. One evening, you discover that you will not be home until 8 pm. A conventional timer heats the empty house for several hours. A smart thermostat allows the schedule to be changed remotely.
The saving does not come from the app. It comes from avoiding three hours of unnecessary heating.
Energy Saving Trust notes that smart heating controls can adjust settings according to preferred temperatures and how quickly a home warms up. However, it also warns that easier control can increase bills if people use it to turn the heating on more frequently.
A heat-pump warning
Smart controls must suit the heating system.
A gas boiler may respond well to clearly defined on-and-off periods. A heat pump is generally more efficient when operating steadily at a lower flow temperature rather than repeatedly being allowed to cool and then working hard to recover.
Weather compensation can adjust the heating-water temperature according to outdoor conditions, helping the system deliver only as much heat as the home needs.
In my own home, where an air source heat pump works alongside solar generation and battery storage, I have learnt that the cleverest-looking setting is not always the most efficient one. Controls must work with the heating system rather than constantly fighting it.
Worth buying when: your current heating runs while the house is empty, follows an irregular schedule or has poor temperature control.
Probably not worth buying when: you already use a well-configured programmable thermostat consistently and the smart replacement offers little additional control.
2. Smart Thermostatic Radiator Valves
A central thermostat controls the heating system, but it cannot always recognise that individual rooms have different requirements.
A living room may need to be comfortable throughout the evening. A spare bedroom may need only enough heat to prevent damp. A home office may need heating during the day but not at night.
Smart thermostatic radiator valves—smart TRVs—allow rooms to be controlled separately.
They are especially useful in homes where:
some rooms are used only occasionally;
bedrooms can be cooler than living areas;
home-working patterns change during the week;
solar gain warms one side of the house;
family members use rooms at different times.
Energy Saving Trust estimates that adding TRVs to a home that already has a programmer and thermostat can save about £35 a year in Great Britain, although actual results depend on how the home was previously heated.
The measurable benefit comes from reducing the amount of space heated unnecessarily.
For example, suppose a house has two unused bedrooms. Without zoning, they may be heated whenever the main living room calls for heat. Smart TRVs can keep those rooms at a lower temperature and warm them only before visitors arrive.
Do not over-zone a badly balanced system
Smart TRVs cannot compensate for every heating problem. Poorly balanced radiators, badly positioned thermostats, inadequate insulation or an incorrectly configured heat pump should be corrected first.
With heat pumps in particular, closing too many heating circuits can reduce water flow and interfere with the system’s intended operation. Controls should be configured with the installer rather than added blindly.
Worth buying when: rooms have clearly different occupancy patterns.
Probably not worth buying when: every room is occupied at similar times or the heating system first needs balancing and servicing.
3. A Smart Meter and In-Home Display
A smart meter does not automatically reduce energy consumption. Its value is that it provides information that can change behaviour and unlock time-of-use tariffs.
Ofgem says smart meters can store half-hourly energy-use data, while the accompanying in-home display can show current and historical consumption. Citizens Advice emphasises that households must actively use this information if they want it to reduce their bills.
For most households, the in-home display is the first practical energy-monitoring tool.
Try switching off everything that can safely be switched off and look at the remaining electricity demand. That background figure may reveal:
servers and network equipment;
pumps;
refrigeration;
entertainment equipment;
chargers;
heated towel rails;
outdoor equipment;
forgotten electric heaters.
The display is also useful for conducting simple experiments.
How much does the oven add? What happens when the tumble dryer starts? How much electricity is the house using overnight? Does the dehumidifier run continuously? Does the base load fall when the television system is switched off at the wall?
The display does not solve these problems, but it makes invisible consumption visible.
Worth obtaining when: you want to understand daily consumption or access a smart tariff.
Probably not worth buying separately when: your supplier can provide a compatible display or app without charge.
4. A Whole-Home Energy Monitor
A smart-meter display shows total consumption, but it may not explain which circuit is responsible.
A whole-home monitor normally uses current sensors fitted around electrical cables to provide more detailed, near-real-time information. More sophisticated systems may identify circuits or recognise the characteristic patterns of certain appliances.
This is particularly useful in homes with:
solar panels;
battery storage;
heat pumps;
electric vehicle charging;
immersion heaters;
workshops;
garden buildings;
home servers;
several consumer units.
The greatest value is often diagnostic.
Suppose the home is unexpectedly drawing 2.5 kW at midnight. A whole-home monitor may help establish whether the load is the immersion heater, battery charging, an EV, a heat-pump cycle or equipment left running in a workshop.
That discovery can be worth much more than the monitor itself.
My own home contains solar generation, substantial battery storage and a heat pump. In a system like this, the total electricity figure tells only part of the story. I also need to know whether electricity is coming from the panels, the batteries or the grid—and where it is going.
Worth buying when: your electricity system is complex or unexplained consumption is significant.
Probably not worth buying when: the smart-meter display already gives enough information to identify the household’s main loads.
5. Plug-In Appliance Energy Monitors
Whole-home monitoring tells you what the house is doing. A plug-in monitor tells you exactly what one appliance is doing.
The monitor sits between the socket and the appliance, displaying power, energy use and—on some models—estimated cost. Citizens Advice recommends this type of monitor for investigating individual electrical appliances.
These inexpensive devices can answer practical questions:
How much does an old freezer use in a week?
Does a dehumidifier cycle off properly?
What is the standby consumption of a television system?
How much electricity does a computer workstation use?
Is the heated propagator expensive to run?
Would replacing an old appliance produce a sensible payback?
The key is to measure over a representative period.
A refrigerator cannot be judged from a five-minute reading because its compressor cycles. Monitor it for several days. A television may draw little in standby but consume considerably more during long viewing periods. A washing machine should be measured across several complete cycles.
This turns appliance replacement into an evidence-based decision.
An older freezer should not be discarded merely because it is old. If its measured annual consumption is reasonable, keeping it may be greener than replacing it. If it is consuming several times more than a modern equivalent, replacement becomes easier to justify.
Worth buying when: you want to test several appliances or investigate a high base load.
Probably not worth buying when: you only want to test one appliance once and can borrow a monitor.
6. Smart Plugs Used Selectively
Smart plugs are among the most heavily promoted smart-home products. They are also among the most frequently misused.
A smart plug saves energy only when the equipment it controls would otherwise consume unnecessary electricity.
Energy Saving Trust estimates that switching appliances off standby can save a typical household around £45 a year in Great Britain. It also notes that smart plugs can be useful for controlling genuine wasted loads, while smart lighting is unlikely to produce significant savings by itself.
Good candidates include:
entertainment systems with several standby devices;
printers used only occasionally;
workshop equipment with persistent standby consumption;
chargers that remain energised unnecessarily;
decorative lighting;
pumps or equipment that need reliable schedules.
Poor candidates include:
refrigerators and freezers;
essential medical equipment;
routers needed for communications or security;
equipment that performs updates while idle;
appliances with negligible standby consumption.
There is also a simple trap: the smart plug consumes electricity itself. If it uses nearly as much energy as the standby load it is intended to eliminate, the saving disappears.
Measure the appliance first. Then compare its standby consumption with the smart plug’s own consumption and purchase price.
A £15 smart plug used to eliminate a 1-watt standby load is unlikely to be exciting financially. The same plug controlling a collection of devices drawing 25 watts for most of the day could be much more worthwhile.
Worth buying when: a measured, non-essential load is being left on for long periods.
Probably not worth buying when: it is being added merely because app control seems convenient.
7. EV Smart Charging and Charging Timers
An electric vehicle is one of the largest controllable electrical loads in many homes. That makes charging time far more financially important than the timing of a lamp or television.
UK smart-charge-point regulations require relevant home chargers to include preset off-peak charging hours that owners can accept or change. Government guidance explains that smart charging can delay demand until lower-demand periods or times of abundant renewable generation.
The calculation is straightforward.
Suppose a vehicle uses 2,500 kWh a year and the off-peak tariff is 15 pence per kWh cheaper than the daytime rate:
2,500 × £0.15 = £375 annual saving
The precise figure depends on mileage, vehicle efficiency and tariff. Ofgem estimated in 2025 that EV owners could save around £332 annually by charging through an off-peak time-of-use tariff. Government modelling has suggested that savings can be greater for high-mileage drivers.
The charger should ideally allow the owner to:
set a required departure time;
specify the required charge level;
avoid expensive tariff periods;
use surplus solar generation;
override the schedule when necessary.
The saving comes from shifting a large load—not from the charger being connected to Wi-Fi.
The same principle applies to electric boats, where charging from surplus solar or cheaper electricity can reduce operating costs and make better use of renewable generation.
Worth buying when: an EV or large battery is regularly charged at home.
Probably not worth upgrading when: the vehicle itself already provides reliable scheduling and the existing charger safely supplies the required power.
8. Intelligent Home-Battery Scheduling
A home battery does not necessarily save money simply because it stores electricity. Its financial performance depends on when it charges, when it discharges and what the household would otherwise pay or receive for that electricity.
With a time-of-use tariff, battery scheduling can:
charge during cheap periods;
avoid importing electricity during expensive periods;
retain capacity for expected solar generation;
preserve energy for peak household demand;
export electricity when an appropriate tariff rewards it.
Energy Saving Trust says that combining a battery with a time-of-use tariff can allow households to store cheap or surplus electricity, avoid expensive periods and, on some tariffs, export at more valuable times.
This is where automation becomes genuinely useful because the best schedule may change with:
tomorrow’s weather forecast;
expected solar generation;
household consumption;
tariff periods;
battery state of charge;
export rates.
In winter, a battery may need a substantial overnight grid charge because solar generation is expected to be low. In summer, filling it from the grid before sunrise could leave no room for free solar electricity later in the day.
My own 50 kWh of battery storage makes this particularly noticeable. A small error in scheduling a light is insignificant. A poor decision involving tens of kilowatt-hours can have a visible effect on the day’s energy costs.
There is another complication: storing solar electricity is not automatically better than exporting it. If the export payment is higher than the value of avoiding a later import—after allowing for battery losses and wear—exporting may be financially preferable.
The controller should optimise the entire system, not simply follow the rule “never export solar”.
Worth buying or enabling when: you have battery storage and a tariff with meaningful price differences.
Probably not worth paying extra for when: you are on a flat tariff and already consume nearly all stored solar energy effectively.
9. A Solar-PV Hot-Water Diverter
A solar diverter monitors electricity flowing towards the grid. When it detects surplus solar generation, it sends an appropriate amount to an immersion heater rather than importing electricity to heat water later.
Energy Saving Trust explains that a diverter can use surplus solar electricity to heat water in a cylinder, although surplus generation alone may not meet all hot-water needs. It currently estimates that installation can add around £800 and that the unit may need replacing after approximately 12 years.
A diverter can be worthwhile when:
the home regularly exports surplus solar electricity;
there is a suitable hot-water cylinder and immersion heater;
the alternative water-heating fuel is relatively expensive;
exported electricity earns less than the value of the displaced heating energy.
However, the economics require careful calculation.
Imagine that surplus solar could either be exported for 15 pence per kWh or diverted to replace gas costing 7 pence per kWh. Ignoring efficiency differences, exporting may be financially better.
If it replaces electricity costing 25 pence per kWh while the export payment is only 5 pence, diversion is far more attractive.
Homes with heat pumps need an additional comparison. Sending one kilowatt-hour directly to an immersion heater produces approximately one kilowatt-hour of heat. Supplying that electricity to an efficient heat pump may produce several kilowatt-hours of heat. The system must be considered as a whole.
Worth buying when: the measured value of displaced water heating exceeds lost export income by enough to repay the installation.
Probably not worth buying when: export payments are generous or a heat pump already heats water more economically.
10. A Smart Hot-Water or Immersion-Heater Controller
An immersion heater is a large electrical load. Leaving one operating for longer than necessary can waste far more energy than dozens of small standby devices.
A smart controller can provide:
timed water-heating periods;
temperature monitoring;
boost functions;
tariff-aware operation;
integration with solar generation;
records of energy consumption;
automatic legionella-protection cycles where appropriate.
This is particularly useful in homes using Economy 7, smart time-of-use tariffs, solar panels or battery storage. Time-of-use tariffs reward households that can move flexible loads away from expensive periods, and Energy Saving Trust advises scheduling suitable appliances during lower-price periods while following safety guidance.
A practical schedule might heat most of the cylinder during a cheap overnight period, then use surplus solar for a controlled daytime top-up.
The smart controller should not simply provide remote switching. It should show how long the heater operates and help prevent unnecessary reheating.
Safety is essential. High-current appliances require correctly rated equipment and professional installation. Temperature settings and hygiene cycles must not be reduced carelessly in pursuit of small savings.
Worth buying when: hot water is electrically heated and currently relies on crude or unreliable timing.
Probably not worth buying when: a modern boiler or heat-pump controller already manages the cylinder efficiently.
The Features I Would Buy First
For most households, the order should be:
First: Measure
Start with the smart-meter display, a plug-in appliance monitor and—where justified—a whole-home monitoring system.
These reveal the real problems.
Second: Control Heating
Heating controls and TRVs can affect a much larger part of the bill than most small smart devices. Energy Saving Trust estimates that installing a programmer, thermostat and TRVs where effective controls are absent can save around £110 a year in Great Britain.
Third: Shift Large Electrical Loads
EVs, batteries and immersion heaters offer the greatest time-of-use opportunities because they consume large quantities of electricity and can often operate flexibly.
Fourth: Eliminate Measured Standby Waste
Only then should smart plugs be added—and only to equipment shown to be wasting enough energy to justify them.
Features That Usually Save Less Than Expected
Some smart-home products are frequently described as green despite offering weak savings.
Smart Lighting
LED lighting already uses relatively little electricity. Adding connected hubs, permanently powered switches and smart bulbs may improve convenience, but the financial saving is often small unless lights are routinely left on for long periods. Energy Saving Trust specifically notes that smart lights are unlikely to save much energy in a typical household.
Smart Speakers
They can control useful equipment, but they also add another permanent standby load. Their value depends on the routines they enable, not on the speaker itself.
Connected Kitchen Appliances
A refrigerator with a screen or a washing machine with an app is not automatically more efficient. The energy label, appliance size, programme selected and actual usage matter more.
App-Controlled Everything
Remote control is useful only when it changes energy consumption. Being able to operate an appliance from a phone is not, by itself, an energy-saving feature.
A Better Definition of a Smart Home
A smart home should not demand constant attention. Nor should it contain dozens of devices sending unnecessary notifications.
It should quietly answer four questions:
Where is energy being used?
Is that energy use necessary?
Could it happen at a cheaper or greener time?
Can the process be automated safely?
The most successful smart systems gradually disappear into the background. Heating follows occupancy. Batteries respond to tariffs and weather. Vehicles charge before departure without using expensive peak electricity. Hot water is available when needed without being reheated continuously.
Technology only saves energy when it changes what the home does.
Conclusion: Buy Intelligence, Not Novelty
The smartest purchase is rarely the gadget with the most features. It is the one that solves a measured problem.
A smart thermostat is worthwhile when it stops an empty house being heated. Smart TRVs are worthwhile when rooms have different schedules. An energy monitor is worthwhile when it discovers an unexplained load. A smart plug is worthwhile when it eliminates genuine standby waste. EV and battery scheduling are worthwhile when they move hundreds or thousands of kilowatt-hours into cheaper periods.
That is the standard every smart-home product should have to meet:
What will it measure, what will it change, and how much will it save?
Until those questions can be answered, it is not an energy-saving investment. It is simply another gadget.
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