Washington County Weekend Post

Becoming eco-friendly can be easier with today's technology. Convert your home into a smart home with smart technology that can be remotely managed from your phone when you're away. Smart Thermometers Cooling and heating your home can take up more ener- gy than any other appliance in your home. Installing smart thermometers make it easy to keep an eye on energy usage. EnergyStar.gov says smart thermometers are the best candidate to help save energy within the household. Smart ther- mostats offer the ability to control your home's temper- ature while you are away. They are also able to learn your home patterns and turn up and down the temperature automatically. Smart thermometers have earned the energy star certification through a process that verifies saving based on extensive field data, according to Energy- Star. There are a variety of different thermometers you can buy at your local hardware stores. Smart Appliances More appliances are get- ting smart features added to them as the years progress. Dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers use less energy. Each of these appliances offers consumers new functionality that can pro- vide added convenience and more savings. Appliances with the EnergyStar certification come with features such as giving you an alert when the door is open too long. Some refrigerators offer a sneak peak function that allows you to see what is inside without actually opening the fridge. You also can schedule your washing machine or dishwasher to operate when your electrici- ty rates are lowest. Some smart devices can connect to one another and be controlled remotely from an app. Investigate which appliances contain this feature. Other Smart Home Tech Smart thermometers and smart appliances are really great ways to invest in becoming more eco-friendly, but they aren't the only investments you can make. There is other smart tech you can invest in that can also make your home more green. A robotic vacuum cleaner is a great eco-friendly investment for your home that comes with plenty of benefits. Robotic vacuums can be controlled through Wi-Fi and will move around your apartment or home picking up lint, dust and dirt. Smart power strips are a quick way to make your home more energy efficient. Devices can still suck energy even when they are in sleep mode or turned off. This is called vampire loading, and the best way to stop vampire loading is investing into a smart power strip. Smart strips are the best way to stop vampire loading because they detect when a device is in rest mode or sleep mode and cut power off to that outlet. There are smart strips that can even be controlled via Wi-Fi, allowing you to turn it on or off away from home. © ADOBE STOCK Make your home a smart home 2B • WASHINGTON COUNTY POST • SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2021 GMTODAY.COM ACROSS 1. __ fi: popular genre 4. Curved shape 7. Defunct airline 10. Beverage receptacle 11. Corporate bigwig 12. Belong to he 13. They cover cuts 15. Cost per mille 16. Walk into 19. Power-producing machine 21. Part of one's character perceived by others 23. Emotionally appealed to 24. Protected 25. Wrestling icon Okerlund 26. Thailand's former name 27. Muscle weaknesses 30. Chooses 34. American film studio 35. Expression of satisfaction 36. Mythical winged horse 41. Ballplayers 45. Edible seaweed 46. Chinese politician 47. Tested for fertility 50. Glove worn with medieval armor 54. Basaltic lavas 55. Small shoaling fish 56. Surrendered 57. Taxi 59. Potato part 60. Female sheep 61. Trouble or difficulty 62. Put into service 63. Soviet Socialist Republic 64. 17th letter of Greek alphabet 65. Type of student DOWN 1. Frighten 2. Partner to corned beef 3. Parts 4. Agrees to a demand 5. Elected official 6. Navigator's tool 7. Relating to heat 8. Attractive 9. Wealthy US merchant 13. Engine additive 14. A passage with access only at one end 17. Midway between northeast and east 18. Cool! 20. Brazilian NBAer 22. NW Pennsylvania city 27. Young dog 28. Mimic 29. Large truck 31. The NFL's Newton 32. One and only 33. Diego, Francisco, Anselmo 37. Julie __, actress 38. More nourishing 39. Compound 40. A small carrier attached to the side of a motorcycle 41. Object of fear or alarm 42. __ Ladd, actor 43. Sacred place 44. A way to express enjoyment 47. Trigonometric function 48. A team's best pitcher 49. Intersecting points 51. Roundishly shaped 52. Adam's partner 53. God of battle (Scandinavian) 58. Human hormone ANSWERS FOR THIS WEEK'S CROSSWORD REAL ESTATE Place your ad 24/7 @ www.gmtoday.com/classifieds Southeast Wisconsin For assistance call 262.306.5000 or conleyclass@conleynet.com

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