Explore Smart Homes
Use smart technology for home comfort, convenience, security and energy savings.
Smart Homes Work For You
In a Smart Home, appliances, lighting, products and devices communicate and send information. You control them through a smartphone app, like the DTE Insight App, by pushing a button or by voice command.
You can connect all of your automated, smart home products and devices in a central control system - called a hub, or a smart assistant, like the DTE Energy Bridge - and create your personal home Internet of Things. A smartphone app makes it easy to control and get information from your smart home products, whether you’re at home or away.
Use smart home products to monitor and analyze your home energy use. That helps you develop an energy-savings strategy to reduce your monthly bill.
Hot Weather Savings - Dialing up the thermostat by only two degrees and using your ceiling fan can lower air conditioning costs by up to 14% over the course of the cooling season. You can also save energy and money by setting your thermostat higher when no one is home. Then simply adjust your smart thermostat when you are an hour away to pre-cool your home and you’ll arrive to a cool and comfortable temperature.
Cold Weather Savings - Save energy in winter by setting the thermostat to 68° or as low as is possible while you're awake and setting it lower while you're asleep or away from home. On cold winter nights, put an extra blanket on the bed and lower your thermostat another degree or two to save even more.
Keep the Air Flowing - Make sure that rugs, drapes or furniture are not blocking airflow to registers and keep them clear of paper, files and office supplies.
Programmable Thermostat - Install a programmable thermostat. Controlling your temperature settings will help you save money and stay comfortable. Save as much as 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply turning your thermostat 7°-10°F for 8 hours a day from its normal setting.
Energy Efficient Range Hood - ENERGY STAR®-certified kitchen range hood and ventilation fans use 60% less energy than standard models and remove odors and moisture with less noise.
LCD vs. Plasma Television - As the cost of LED lighting continues to decrease, more television manufacturers are incorporating LED edge-lit LCDs, which are the most energy efficient combination of backlighting and panel technology. Plasma televisions are composed of miniature gas-filled cells that glow, similar in operation to fluorescent lamps. They generate more heat and consume more power.
Look for the ENERGY STAR® Label - ENERGY STAR®-certified televisions are 25% more energy efficient on average than conventional models.
Buying Season - Spring is the best time to buy a new TV. New models arrive in spring and older models are discounted.
Made for TV Sales - Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great for TV discounts, but watch out for derivative models that have fewer features and are made only for hot sale days. Search a model number to find reviews and to find and compare multiple vendors.
Audio & Video Equipment - ENERGY STAR®-certified audio/video equipment can be up to 70% more efficient than conventional models.
Blu-Ray Players - ENERGY STAR®-certified Blu-Ray players are on average 45% more efficient than conventional models.
Sound Bars - ENERGY STAR®-certified sound bars are on average up to 70% more efficient than standard models.
Stop Vampire Power - Plugged-in appliances and products continue to draw energy even when they are not being used. That energy drain is called Vampire Power, and it can account for as much as 12% of your monthly bill.
Smart Plugs - Controlled by an app, a smart plug lets you turn on and off any appliance that plugs into a standard wall socket. You can plug in a lamp, a TV, a gaming console, a coffee machine and other electronic products and cut off vampire power when the product is not in use.
Smart Power Strips - Plug your home office system - computer, printer, monitor and other home office products - into a smart power strip. Smart power strips can cut off power and save energy when your system is not in use for a specified period, and you can control all the components in a single strip.
Charge Up to 100% - Unplug electronics like cell phones and laptops once they are fully charged: they still draw energy even after reaching 100% charged if they are still plugged in.
Look for the ENERGY STAR® Label - ENERGY STAR®-certified desktop, integrated desktop and laptop computers use 25% less energy without sacrificing quality or performance. ENERGY STAR®-certified printers use over 35% less energy, and their efficient design ensures they run cooler and last longer.
Screen Savers Don’t Save - Despite common belief, a screen saver does not save energy. In fact, screen savers continue to draw power for the monitor and also keep the CPU from shutting down.
Use Sleep Mode - Make sure your computer automatically switches to "sleep mode" when you’re away from it for a while. You can set the amount of time when sleep mode sets in, or you can manually turn the monitor off when it’s not in use.
Enable or Disable Wake - ENERGY STAR®-certified computers with networking capabilities have the ability to enable and disable Wake On LAN for sleep mode, allowing greater use of low power modes without a loss of IT system maintenance capabilities.
DTE Insight App
The DTE Insight app has easy-to-use features to create your smart home that fits your needs and lifestyle.
Smart Products
Learn about smart home products - light bulbs, plugs, sensors, thermostats and more.