Intrigued by the idea of smart home devices but haven’t gotten around to getting one yet? Well, SSE Airtricity’s new Smart Home Bundles could be just the ticket to get you onboard the smart home device train.
In the last few years, we’ve seen the popularity of smart home devices rise exponentially, from smart speakers to virtual assistants, to smart lighting, to smart home thermostats; there are any number of smart home devices these days designed to enhance your home living experience.
However, as with any new type of technology or product, it can sometimes be difficult to justify running out and buying it as soon as it hits the shelves, before you’ve had a proper chance to gauge its ultimate utility to your lifestyle - especially when such devices are costly.
If you’ve been toying with the idea of investing in a smart home device or two but have yet to take the plunge, now could be your chance to get a flavour for not one, but a number of the leading and most popular devices currently on the market, because...
SSE Airtricity is offering a range of the newest generation smart home devices along with its 10% discounted electricity and dual fuel bundles, and what’s more, they’re free!
Who is SSE?
SSE Airtricity is the largest provider of 100% green electricity in Ireland, that is, energy generated with renewable technologies. It also provides natural gas and essential services to homes and businesses across the country.
SSE has 28 onshore wind farms, operating with a combined generation capacity of 720MW, making them the largest generator and provider of renewable energy in the Single Electricity Market on this island.
What’s on offer?
SSE Airtricity is offering customers two Smart Home energy bundles, which not only offer gas and electricity at a discounted price for the contract duration but also throw in a total of three of the newest generation smart home devices which come to a total retail price of up to €609.
Let’s take a look at the deals:
Smart Home Bundle Electricity (Direct Debit & eBill)
With its electricity only deal, SSE Airtricity is offering 10% off of its standard electricity prices over a 12-month contract, and you’ll also get the newest 3rd generation Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and a Climote absolutely FREE.
If you’ve never heard of either the Amazon Echo or Echo Dot you might have heard of Alexa, the virtual assistant and special ingredient. It’s Alexa which makes these devices more than just speakers, but smart devices, helping you to meet the everyday demands of modern living.
By simply using your voice, you can ask Alexa to play music, make calls, set alarms and timers, ask questions, check your calendar, weather, traffic and sports scores, add things to your Amazon shopping cart, manage to-do and shopping lists, control compatible smart home devices (like smart light bulbs for instance), and more.
The Amazon Echo and the Echo Dot essentially perform the same functions but the Amazon Echo is a bigger speaker than the Echo Dot meaning that it has greater sound quality. The Amazon Echo retails for around €110 and the Echo Dot for around €50 to €70 (depending on the model).
Climote is a smart thermostat that allows you to control your home’s heating from anywhere in the world via an app on your phone. Providing that you have an internet connection, you’ll be able to boost your heating or turn on/off your hot water on the go. You’ll no longer have to rely on traditional timer switches giving you a lot more control over your heating bills!
Climote retails for around €400. Check out how it compares to other smart home thermostats here.
Smart Home Bundle Dual Fuel (Direct Debit & eBill)
With this deal, SSE Airtricity offers 10% off of both its standard electricity and gas prices for your 12-month contract and in this case you’ll get the 3rd Gen and Amazon Echo, the newest model Echo Show 5, as well as the Climote smart thermostat as discussed above.
The Echo Show 5 does everything that the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot do, however it comes with a display screen that allows you to also make video calls, watch video flash briefings, see your to-do and shopping lists, and more. The Echo Show 5 retails for around €99.
Are these Smart Home Bundles a good deal?
It can’t be denied that SSE Airtricity is one of the more expensive energy suppliers on the market.
For example, a customer using an average amount of gas and electricity annually could stand to save close to €380 right now by switching to the current cheapest dual fuel offer on the market but that savings figure would go down to €24 if the same customer chose SSE Airtricity’s new Smart Home Dual Fuel bundle instead.
That's not to say it's not worth it, because if you are on the lookout to kit out your abode with some smart devices then it can’t be denied that SSE Airtricity’s bundles are offering serious value. The combined retail price of the free devices included in the electricity-only bundle comes to approximately €569 and for the dual fuel bundle, that figure goes up to €609!
For the environmentally-conscious among us, it’s also worth mentioning that SSE Airtricity provides 100% renewable energy, so in choosing SSE Airtricity as your energy supplier, you can rest a little easier knowing that you're doing your little bit to help the environment.
Don’t forget, always compare offers
Offers like these are tempting but remember, it’s important to consider all suppliers and deals before you make any big decisions, so make sure that you’re always getting the best deal by comparing with bonkers.ie.
