Help Your House Control Its Energy Appetite

HOMEOWNERS Help Your House Control Its Energy Appetite (NAPSA)—To avoid energy bills that go through the roof cost-conscious homeowners are turning to home automation and networking. Simply put, this means using technology that helps you tell your house, when, where and how to use energy. A programmable thermostat can control a big energy user in the home—heating and air conditioning. Home automation and networking systems can seek savings for the homeowners by shifting energy use to off-peak times when electricity rates are lower. They can also make sure that only the energy-eaters a homeownerreally wants will be allowed to rev up at any given time. Options range from the simple to elaborate. Simple might be installing a programmable thermostat to control one of the biggest energy users in a home: the heating andair conditioning system. Elaborate set-ups can be installed that allow homeowners to connect—and communicate with—most of the major systems in their home. Security, lighting, and certain appliances can be linked to perform at pre-set times—and changed with a phone call or a few clicks on the Internet. More information is available by visiting the Home Automation & Networking Association Web site at www.HANAonline.org.