We all get excited when Apple releases a new iPhone, and the iPhone 6 reveal was no different. But did you know that you can use your shiny new toy to run your home more efficiently? The following apps can be your in-hand assistant and help you stay on top of everything from home security to monitoring how much you’re paying to operate your appliances.
How many times have you left the house for the day or weekend and forgotten to adjust the thermostat? Now you can control your heating and air conditioning straight from your iPhone6 with Nest. All you need is a Wi-Fi connection and a Nest thermostat. Set up the app and you’re on your way to saving energy and money.
Oh no—everyone rushed out the door this morning and forgot to feed Fido! No worries. With Petnet, all you need is the app and one of their feeders, and man’s best friend is full and happy when you get home.
We all know safety comes first, but sometimes those matters are out of our hands. Maybe your daughter got locked out of the house or you’re worried you didn’t turn the deadbolt this morning. With Lockitron, however, you can lock and unlock your home with a swipe of a finger. Whew!
It’s never a bad idea to conserve water. Water Timer is a free app that will calculate how much water you’ve used and how much it’s going to cost you. It will also calculate how much you’d save if you were to switch to a more efficient showerhead or shorten your watering times.
Some of us hate to throw anything out, especially appliances. But you might not be so faithful to that “old faithful” refrigerator once you realize what it’s been costing you each month! Download the Green Outlet app, punch in a a few numbers and you’ll learn just how much your appliances are costing you every month.
What’s going on at home when you’re not there? Find out with AtHome Camera, a simple app that allows you to turn your old computer, tablet, iPad or iPhone into an in-home security system that sends live video of your home to your new iPhone 6. You can also set up a motion detector that will trigger the video to record any time it detects motion. Bonus: you’ll finally find out what that darn cat actually does all day!
