Sprinklers water the lawns of a housing development in Hesperia, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) David McNew | Getty Images News | Getty Images

You probably have a rough idea of how much energy and water your home uses, based on your utility bills. But new technologies aim to turn the tables, letting you see just how much in resources you are using in advance of those bills so that your bottom line is lower. And that goes for everything from everyday appliances to your sprinkler system. If you want to get smart about your home's energy efficiency, perhaps it's time to upgrade. Making smart upgrades in a home — electricity, water usage, heating and air-conditioning — could save a homeowner from 5% to 30% on annual utility bills, according to energy.gov. There are a variety of in-home technology products that will save a homeowner money on their utility bills and help the environment at the same time. These technologies aim to help conserve resources — and potentially save you hundreds to thousands of dollars in unanticipated costs.

Flo Technologies

Flo Technologies

The idea for Flo Technologies' products was inspired by a disaster. Company CEO Gabriel Halimi's family had catastrophic water damage to their home, which resulted in a $300,000 insurance claim. Some of the losses, such as family heirlooms, were irreplaceable. Halimi's father, Henry, a mechanical engineer by training, was inspired to come up with a solution. The result is the company's water monitoring and control technology for the home. The technology is installed on the home's main water supply. It works by tracking the flow, temperature and pressure of your home's water system. Some insurance plans will give you a rebate for using the technology, Halimi said. It also shows you in real time via an app how much water you're using. If your water usage requires attention, it can also send push notifications, text messages or emails. If you don't respond, it can call you by phone. The technology can turn off your water in severe situations. You can also turn it off yourself by pushing a button. The key to the technology is that it can help a homeowner save by alerting them to a problem that needs to be addressed that they might not know about, like a broken sprinkler or water pipe. "Unless you have something like this, you have no way of knowing between the times that you get your water bill that you have something wrong with your home," Halimi said.

Unless you have something like this, you have no way of knowing between the times that you get your water bill that you have something wrong with your home. Gabriel Halimi CEO of Flo Technologies

The product sells for $499, plus the cost of having a plumber install it.

Sense

Another company, called Sense, also lets you monitor your home remotely via an app, but this one is for electricity usage. The technology works through a home monitor that helps to identify the biggest energy drains. The technology is installed inside the electrical panel in your home. It then lets you measure how much energy is used in real time. That can be especially convenient if you're away from home. If you have a vacation house, for example, you can see if the hot tub has been shut off. The technology can also identify which routine appliances are driving up your energy bills. Old refrigerators or TVs are typically some of the big culprits, according to Mike Phillips, co-founder and CEO of Sense.

Switching from incandescent lights to LED lights is another big energy saver, he said. In a large house that had not yet changed over to LEDs, the move could save about $500 per year, Phillips estimated. The average annual energy bill for a typical single-family home is about $2,060, according to Energy Star, a government-run program. Heating and electronics account for about half of those costs. If you do a home-energy audit, you can shave an average of $105 to $627 off your annual utility bills, according to estimates from the Department of Energy. Sense's technology costs $299 for the hardware and access to its applications. You also have to pay to have an electrician install it. The technology can help you eliminate energy guzzlers and troubleshoot for possible new drains that could drive up your bills, Phillips said. "It's all of these bits of visibility into what's going on in your home that you just didn't have visibility into before," Phillips said.

Rachio

Rachio