How much does a 'smart home' really save you?

It has become conventional wisdom that the wave of the future is "smart home" technology from smart utility meters that read a house's energy usage automatically to smart lights that turn off when not in use. The industry has been in development for years, but moved to the forefront of the start-up world when Google bought Nest Labs last year for more than $3 billion. Nest Labs makes a variety of smart home devices including thermostats and smoke alarms.

Smart home technology marries two of the most talked about trends in business right now – the "Internet of things" and green technology. Given the excitement around these products then, it is little surprise that smart home devices from Nest and others have been able to command astronomical price tags in home improvement stores across the country.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/04/16/oilprice-dotcom-smart-home-costs/25877805/

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