Energy efficiency isn't just a trending topic — it's one simple way to optimize your home and simplify your lifestyle. It's also the single most important thing you can do to eliminate excess energy and become more mindful about your electricity usage. By installing a few important smart devices and pairing them with automation, you can easily make your energy usage more predictable and avoid unexpected increases in your electricity bill. Here are a few important tips that'll help you create an energy-efficient home.

Install a Smart Thermostat

These innovative devices are designed to learn your daily routines and habits. By doing so, they can minimize energy consumption when you're away from home by automatically increasing or decreasing the temperature. Some upgraded models can even include things like outdoor weather conditions when making adjustments that maximize your usage.

Forgot to adjust the AC before you walked out the door? No worries! Most smart thermostats come with a mobile app so you can easily manage your settings, no matter how many miles you are from home.

Use Smart Lightbulbs, Smart Plugs and Power Strips

Turning off the lights when they're not in use is one major way you can reduce energy waste. But just in case you forget, you can use things like smart lightbulbs and smart plugs to control the lighting in your home through your smartphone. Consider replacing traditional lightbulbs with energy-efficient smart LED bulbs, which allow you to take control of your home lighting from any location at the touch of your fingertips.

Smart plugs can be an effective option that allow you to control anything that isn't already a smart device &emdash; think things like lamps, candle warmers, small kitchen appliances and more. Simply connect your device to the smart plug to control the power remotely. Once you download the specific app associated with your smart plug, you'll be able to turn them on and off directly from your smartphone.

The outlets in your home are another area that can use excess energy and run up your electric bill unexpectedly. That's because even when your devices are turned off, the plugs continue to draw some electricity, which is referred to as vampire power. Thankfully, there's a simple solution. Consider using a power strip that will cut off the power supply to any devices that remain plugged in.

Choose Smart Home Solutions

Living life is easy when your home is energy efficient and smart. From automatically adjusting your thermostat and your lights to protecting your family with security cameras that give you peace of mind, the benefits of turning your home into a smart oasis are truly endless.

Are you ready to automate many of the simple tasks you do on the daily while optimizing your electricity usage? As a Cirro customer, you can save up to $120 on home security and automation systems when you choose a Vivint Smart Home System from our trusted partner. With the help of a few tech-savvy smart devices, you can easily improve the energy efficiency of your home and experience the simplicity that automation can provide.