Save Energy with Smart Home Automation
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1. EFFORTLESS WAYS TO SAVE ENERGY An automation system can save the hassle of cutting back on electricity use CONSERVING ENERGY AT HOME shouldnt sacrifice your comfort or make you feel deprived It shouldn t require a change routine or lifestyle or create a lot of extra work With an automation system at the helm of your house youll never have to Worry about being uncomfortable ar incon venienced as the system is able to operate the lights thermostats and other power hungry devices with the utmost efficiency All you do is sit back and wateh the system shave money off your monthly utility bil Here are five ways an automation system can foster energy efficiency No longer will yu leave a light on a curling iron heating up or the music playing as you leave the house for work vacation or torun a few errands An All Off command which can be issued from a touchpanel tablet or your smartphone can tell an automa tion system to sweep through the house to turn aff and adjust as needed The closing of the front door the arming of a security sys tem or a signal from a mation sensor can also trigger the house Em wide All Off edit o Curtain Call Sunlight can quickly heat up a room causing your AC system to go into overdrive Motorized shades when automat ed can close at certain times of the day or when a sensor notices a heavy amount of sunshine Effortless Ways to Save Energy Stat Patro2. FH SPECIAL REPORT SAVE ENERGY WITH SMART HOME AUTOMATION Picking the Best Programmable Thermostats ermostats Motorized Blinds amp More AUTOMATIC ENERGY SAVINGS Control of LED lighting solar power and A V equipment through a Control4 automation system nets huge energy savings in a Miami home IT TAKES COMMUNITY to raise house that s so efficient it produces excess power to sell back to the local utility It requires an environmentally conscious design and construction plus a bevy of green eco friendly products and systems to put a residence path toward achieving Platinum LEED rating Part of a team of experts that last year completed a 2 2 million residence recognized by the US Green Building Council USGBC as the Greenest Home in America the custom electronics professionals at MultiMedia Innovations MMI Miami Fla were able to maximize the 3 200 square foot home s energy efficiency through the addition of a Control automation system By collaborating with the Florida Green Home Design Group and its partners SKLARchitecture Hollywood Fla and Arkin Group Miami Beach Fla MMI designed the Control system to help the self sustainable Alton residence achieve the highest scoring LEED rating in the nation The system controls all of the home s LED light fixtures which earned a few LEED points according to MMI s Ed win Melendez Also tied to the Control processor are Q Motion motorized window trea
3. an also help curb use of electricity Heres how 1 When a motion sensor detects that someone has left room it can tell the ight to turn off Some companies offer light switches with sensors built in making the installation easily handled by a doit yourselfer These types of sensors are particularly useful for spaces like closets powder rooms and basements where lights are often left on accidentally Bathroom exhaust fans can function in this same manner 2 Although it can be more difficult to set up mation sensors can also tell thermostats to adjust according to occupancy within a room This of application works best in homes with multiple zones of heat ing and cooling So for instance a zone that includes lesser used rooms can stay at a lower energy saving temperature while rooms where people tend to hang out remain comfortable 4 A daylight also called a photocell sensor tell lights when to turn and off as well but based on the presence of natural sunlight In other words when there s enough available sunlight the light fixtures within a predefined space stay off when additional ight is needed they turn on 4 While tuming off every ight at bedtime is surefire way to save energy having some soft lighting available for midnight trips to the bathroom and kitchen are helpful Strategically positioned motion sensors can trigger a pathway of lights to your destination They can be set up to tur off automa
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5. l Thermostats can be finicky pieces of technology But with an automation system in charge their builtin schedulers become easier to manipulate Plus youl be able to sync the stats with the opera tion of other electronic devices for instance when the automation system tells the lights to tur off the stats set back too Spin Cycle Ceiling fans help circulate warm and cool air making your heating and cooling system work more efficiently By automating the fans they can tur on and off at certain predetermined times of the day Knowledge is Power When you understand where your energy dollar is going you can make better decisions on how and when you use the electronic systems in your house With the right technology Integrated a home automation system can provide a realtime report of your household energy use even breaking it down circuit by cireuit you want sade ech tee mation bp seveonteme energy cost ENERGY MANAGEMENT that Make Sense Security style sensors can help your house run more efficiently while protecting it WHEN MOST PEOPLE hear the word sensor it s a security type emergency that comes to mind A sensor detects motion in the backyard and it sets off a siren a sensor notices that there s water in the basement and it alerts you with a phone call While these will always be core applications of a sensor when programmed appropriately by a custom electranies CE professional they c
6. o longer do you have to settle for an unsightly hard to set thermostat today s models are glamorous and easy to operate REMEMBER STRUGGLING to create a day and night schedule for your programmable thermostat to fellow You likely needed to refer to a users manual more than a few times and may have even given up after a few unsuccessful attempts The unfiendliness not to mention the unattractiveness was the bane of programmable thermostats everywhere Consequently they never functioned as they were intended and homeowners never reaped their energy saving benefits Then came NEST This one product acquired by Google has changed the way people perceive pro grammable thermostats turning them into a thing of beauty something to be admired when attached o the wall and to be appreciated when it came to program it Programming itis literally no brainer After manually adjusting the settings over the course of about a week as you would normally do with regular thermostat lower at night and when you re away back to more comfortable temps when everyone home NEST learns your heating and cooling routines and creates a schedule automatically This saves money It also saves money by responding to activities that happen around the house a capability leveraged by the Nest Labs Developer Pro gram where companies can build products to interact with the smart learning thermostat For example through a link with the Jawbone UP24 fitne
7. or close based on your heating and cooling needs You can shut the vents in rooms that arent being used so that all air flows to the rooms that are occupied Installation involves removing your existing vents and replacing them each with a Z Vent 100 each Not only can you wire lessly control the vents you can also set them to automatically open or close on a schedule Configured with Z Wave occupan sensors and the vents can open and close when people walk into and out of a room T Surprising Energy Savers 3 Solar Window Shades Deciding to power a home with salar is a huge financial com mitment Somfy Systems offers a smaller less intrusive way o give solar a try with its WireFree Solar Pack kit Compat ible with Somfy line of WiceFree motorized roller shades the 200 kit includes solar photovoltaic pane This panel converts energy from the sun into electrical power which is passed to a special rechargeable battery that powers the roller shade This helps the battery last longer and of course pro motes and greener environmentally friendly lifestyle I s also good solution for hard to reach rollers such as second story windows where battery replacement can be challenging 4 Pretty and Practical LED Bulbs For the mere fact that its an LED blub the Hue from Philips consumes less energy than a traditional incandescent bulb fact that its intensity level be altered adds o its efficiency a
8. s does the ability to schedule it via an app to tum on and off and preset times Add all this to the 200 for a starter Kit Cx color changing capabilities and you ve got a gift that anyone wil appreciate pulling from their stocking this year Using the appa user can create a variety of lighting effects for parties romantic dinners bedtime any occasion at all 5 Nest Friendly Washer and Dryer The Works with Nest washer and dryer from Whirlpool takes its cues from the widely popular Nest thermostat For example when the Nest thermostat is in Away mode the dryer can switch automatically to a longer more energy efficient cycle And if youre a participant of Nest s Rush Hour Rewards program you can use Nest to delay the start of the washer and dryer during high demand energy periods The washer and dryer are available for 1 599 each T Surprising Energy Savers NN SEER luem ae foie See ee eee See ee See mus es eee Sees TE mum E IURE Ee ces Ss 12 If youre interested in learning more about home energy management smart thermostats and how automation can help you save on heating and air conditioning bills check out these useful resources Eind an Installer Locate a professional in your area who can set you up with your dream system EH Daily Helpful articles on a variety of home tech topics EH Library The most complete resource for smart home tec
9. ss band Nest can signal the band to wake you up when the temperature adjusts in the morning Technology integrated into Mercedes Benz cars can tell Nest when you ll be home and start heating and cooling the house at exactly the right time Changing the Face of Thermostats Forever Its model thats inspiring even veteran manufacturers of thermostats to break the mold so to speak Honeywell or example recently launched a NESTike thermostat called Lyric I s an addition to its established line of WiFi connect ed thermostats but with few unique energy saving twists instead of auto creating a schedule based on how you jog its dial ike NEST it auto creates based on your location Through a connection to your smartphone the Lyric knows when you re home and when you re not as well as ings and goings of other smartphone toting family mem bers and establishes a heating and cooling schedule around it You can customize the distance so there s no chance of it resetting the temperature when you simply run out to grab the mail The Lyric also takes inte account the outdoor temperature humidity level and other condi tions before it adjusts And here s the really good news Both the NEST and the Lyric are designed to be installed by do it yourselfers So if your thermostat could use serious facelift and you d like to save energy to boot upgrade to one of these uber smart super connected thermostats
10. system s builtin astronomical timeclock even when the lights are on they are never at a full brightness level This alone is big energy saver The window shades move auto matically too as part of the homeowner s Morning routine which helps block out the intense Florida sunlight so that the geothermal cooling system ie never overtaxed As part of his Good Night routine the owner taps an icon on the screen of his iPad to initiate a command that turns off every light The house is so efficient in its use of electrical power there s plenty left over to share with the home s several substantial entertainment systems including the Control equipment that feeds audio and video to speakers and TVs throughout the property and a home theater system featuring an Epson video projector 5 1 surround sound system and a double sided motorized 106 inch VuTec projection screen that when lowered from the ceiling be viewed from both the living room and the outdoor area Naturally viewers outside would see the backside of the image However when the owner taps a specially programmed icon on the screen on his iPad the image flips so that i s perfect for movies alfresco All the while the Control system and the rest of the green technologies are working in the back ground conserving energy maximizing efficiency and making this award winning home one for the energy saving record books CHANGING the Face of THERMOSTATS Forever N
11. ti cally after a certain amount of time has lapsed Energy Management that Makes Sense 5 Weather sensors can be used as a gauge for irrigation systems For ex ample if sensors notice that enough rain has fallen or even if the weather report predicts rain they can trigger a temporary override of a lawn irrigation system 6 Outdoor temperature sensors when interfaced with a home s heating and cooling system and or motrorized window shades instruct thermostats and window shades to adjust according to the outdoor weather conditions This can help curb heating and cooling costs Temperature Nght motion or tensors can be used to automaticaly adjust your heating or AC sstem SURPRISING 1 Cooling AC Use The Moneiytn ie a webenabed device for xis ig ido val A ite Wong sar ione he Monlh perms emote tweaks othe sting ofthe AC The produet commutes wih you Ant a censor a ing rcmplaed talon Once its been syed vith ne AC and Jour heme WEF he Moralyh ean Tear both your shed and your temperature preferences and set tne AE acceding ON course you can aay verde these automated alera fone via he spp on your smartphone Other fentures inetud motn detection ana push Potitcation af aens ips and reminders is expected to be aille sometime eariy nextyear at a seorsim 2 Automated Vent The ZVent from EcoNet controls can be controlled remotely from a smartphone app to open
12. tments Jandy Automatic Energy Savings swimming pool system Controla dis ps tributed audio and video switchers and Monday June 7 Eragy energy management system The latter enables the Control system to continually monitor the current ener ay production of the home s photovol taic solar panels as well as the home s overall energy usage This information an be viewed on both Control vire 50 36 less touchpanels and the screen of an iPad Based on the data which breaks increased to 1 95 at 6pm down the energy consumption circuit by circuit a user can decide where and When te cut back Melendez explains However because the home is so inherently efficient rarely does the current owner need to alter his energy use daily routine He just lets the photovoltaic solar panels and geothermal heating and cooling system do their jobs and the Control system manage the operation Its a plan that in addi tion to the Platinum LEED rating enabled the house to achieve a Net Zero rating which signifies that ite systems alone produce enough power to run the house without taking energy from the grid In fact the homeowner is able to supply the local utility with the surplus power resulting in credits on each monthly bill Through programming of the Control system the saving energy sacrifices none of the homeown er s comfort convenience or valuable free time For example certain lights turn on and off automati cally based on the Control
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