Run Your Home on an iPad

Now you can monitor your home energy use with an app that connects your home's electric grid to an iPad. You can turn off lights, air or appliances when they're not in use, or even program them to turn on and off at certain times of day.

According to Jim Gist, a vice president at Control4, you can even monitor and ovveride changes that others make when you re not home. "If your teenage kids are home alone and they turn down the air to 62 degrees, your iPad or iPhone will alert you and you can change it," he said.

If you already have an iPad, you can download the app from iTunes for free, although you will have to pay a one-time licensing fee of $99.

However, you should be able to make that back in energy savings. According to Gist, the app can cut lighting costs 10% to 30% and air conditioning costs 20% to 40%.

See the other green ideas at CNN Money.com.

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