How to save with smart home technology: thermostats and lighting control

    The residence on Elton Road in Miami Beach is a 300-square-meter home with a cost of $ 2.2 million that not only saves energy - it produces for itself, but also sells surpluses to local utilities.



    This piece of architecture has received platinum status in the LEED rating , a national certification program that maintains standards for green design and construction in the United States.

    Smart home stuffing was organized by a team of engineers from the Florida company MultiMedia Innovations (MMI), whose headquarters is located in Miami. Energy saving was organized using the Control4 system, which was developed by MMI together with the Florida Green Home Design Group and their partners SKLARchitecture.

    As a result, this house, capable of providing itself with energy, has received the highest LEED rating to date. Energy saving and optimization of energy consumption is facilitated by the lighting of the house, which is done using LED lamps, the use of which gives a large number of LEED glasses, as well as motorized curtains and blinds Q-Motion, the Jandy water purification system for the pool, audio and video sensors and the Eragy electricity consumption control system .



    It is not difficult to guess that, given the declared ability to reproduce energy and the location of the house, it is equipped with solar panels on photocells, which are also controlled by Eragy and Control4 systems. All information on the operation of the systems is displayed on the touchpanels and also on the iPad of the owner of the house.



    The energy-saving algorithms that these systems provide maintain an optimal level of comfort in the home and save the owner from unnecessary running around and fuss with turning on and adjusting devices. So, a certain part of the lighting is automatically turned on and off in accordance with astronomical time. The system never turns on the lamps at full power, which in itself significantly saves energy. Automatic blinds are closed in order to avoid overheating of the room by the bright Florida sun, in connection with which the geothermal cooling system at home works in a moderate mode.

    A similar structure is the flagship of green technologies and a technology showroom with a demonstration of the possibilities of modern integration of smart home systems, a masterpiece of engineering that is not only expensive, but also not only pays off over time, but also starts to make a profit - unless, of course, the cost of maintenance and the replacement of equipment will not eat up this profit. But even this will be already good, because the initially set standards of comfort will be maintained in the house thanks to a system that feeds itself.

    Although such an integrated masterpiece of engineering and architectural thought among the average user is more likely to remain in their dreams, this does not mean at all that we cannot afford smart home technology to save energy in everyday life.

    Turn off all


    This method allows you to forget about the following small points of our everyday life, which cause a lot of inconvenience:

    1. The need to constantly remember to turn off the lights in the rooms from which you exit.
    2. Forgotten (or not?) Plugged irons, curling irons and other fire hazardous appliances.
    3. Left included music, computer and other equipment.



    The “Turn off everything” command can be transmitted both from the owner’s device and from the motion sensor, which controls the absence of people in the house at the moment.
    The easiest way to implement this technology is LED lamps with integrated motion sensors. Despite the fact that they will themselves be more expensive, you need to consider that:

    1. LED lamps last a very, really very long time.
    2. A 60-watt incandescent lamp can be replaced by an LED lamp with a power of only 8 watts.

    If you add on-off to this small expense only when the light is needed, you can pay for the equipment of your home with LED lamps for a year, depending on your needs.

    Perhaps the most elegant solution for the forgetful is Belkin's WeMo® Insight Switch . In fact, it looks like a timer to turn on the backlight in the aquarium - there are more than a dozen such ones used in aquariums. The only difference is that it is controlled by wi-fi, and also considers the energy consumption of each specific device.



    Perhaps this is one of the fastest ways to convert your home in a smart way, being a simple homeowner.



    For this purpose, the Belkin WeMo line allows you to replace the switches with smart ones, and then connect them to your smartphone.

    Smart thermostat


    This section of savings is common in the United States, where houses are equipped with climate systems by default. In our country, it is more difficult to save on heating in apartment buildings, but at the same time, the technology can be implemented in private houses if you know about it in advance and provide for the possibility of its use.



    Previously, the situation with smart thermostats was very deplorable: the unfriendly user interface and the need to set parameters manually fought off any desire to do this. Now everything has become much more convenient. So, for example, the NEST thermostatdoesn't just look like an element of expensive design. For some time, he collects information about your preferences, and then, based on these data, builds the necessary schedule to maintain a cooler temperature when you sleep or are outside the house, and warmer when you are at home.

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    Surprisingly, it can be connected to a Jawbone UP24 bracelet, which the thermostat will instruct you to wake up after the temperature is optimal for waking up. And the technology that Mercedes-Benz uses in their cars can transmit data to the thermostat about when you are at home so that it starts to warm up or cool down the house when you arrive.

    By the way, the combination with the Jawbone bracelet is also planned in the new version of iRidium 3.0, which is launching beta testingalready informed the developers .



    According to the manufacturers, this thermostat can save 10-12% of electricity for heating and about 15% for cooling rooms. Algorithms for maintaining temperature levels are usually created for each specific project located in different geographical areas. If the Smart Home is located on the Mediterranean coast, its energy saving requirements are very different from the requirements of a home located, for example, on the Baltic Sea. In addition, the requirements of the owner of the house are also purely individual. Someone is comfortable at home at a temperature of +22, someone is hot, someone is cold. All these parameters are closely monitored by NEST and learn those patterns that are optimal for the owner.

    Many modern thermostats provide a lot of additional information - for example, about the weather, and can also “learn” certain patterns of maintaining the climate in the house. Therefore, it’s good to know the main parameters for evaluating such devices when choosing them. They can also send data to the server, as, for example, this can be implemented in the new version of iRidium 3.0 - a system for managing a smart home - which allows you to store data on the server and process it accordingly.



    Technology


    Most thermostats are easily connected via Wi-Fi. However, not all. There is also Z-Wave technology, which requires an independent hub. When choosing equipment, look at this option, and if you are a beginner, then perhaps you should stick with Wi-Fi.

    Compatibility


    Immediately indicate the circle of devices that will be connected to your thermostat and their parameters. Keep in mind that if you will later replace or add devices, you need to ensure that the thermostat still fits into the ecosystem of your home. With smartphones, there are much fewer problems than with compatibility between devices. See requirements.

    Mobile access


    All smart thermostats are equipped with this feature. Some of them can work with only one type of operating system - either Android or iOS. Therefore, pay attention to this aspect. If you have, for example, BlackBerry, then, perhaps, unfortunately, you have to start by changing your gadget in this case.

    Additions


    What could be the additional options in the thermostat? Self-training, behaviors in case of your long absence, geographical areas, sensors, monthly reporting function - this is not a complete list of possibilities. It is clear that manufacturers are trying to present their own set of features as the best, but look at it with a cold look and choose the set of features that meets your needs.

    Design


    Modern smart thermostats do not need to think where to hide. They are created beautiful and attractive - as they say, it is not a shame to hang on the wall. If you don’t like how the device looks, then perhaps it makes sense to look for something more sympathetic, since the choice is great now.

    Installation


    If you do not replace the old thermostat with a new one, but install it from scratch, it may make sense to contact a professional. However, many thermostats are suitable for self-installation, as they were originally designed for a wide audience.



    In a word, the elements of smart home technology and the increased standards of energy conservation are not something transcendental. This is quite affordable technology for the average user, in fact, the modern market of smart home gadgets is oriented to him, which we will talk about in more detail in our next article.


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