Green automation ideas...
Green automation ideas...
Some time back I attended the inaugural meeting of the 'Denver Metro Home Automation Meetup' group (the group has since evaporated) and we spent the bulk of the evening discussing ideas on how to use home automation to reduce our consumption and increase the sustainability of how we live in and interact with our homes. It was a super energized group and the ideas were flowing quite freely. While I pride myself on being on the supposed "cutting edge" of electronics assisted sustainability, I learned a great deal through how other people are using home automation to aid their "Green" efforts and I'm eager to share a few of my favorites with you...
One of the ideas that we discussed was the disconnect with reality that lighting control manufacturers seem to exhibit. Yes, automated lighting controls can be used to effect some energy savings by tracking occupancy and controlling lighting loads appropriately, dimming incandescent loads based on daylight harvesting or time of day or simplifying the "hibernation" of your home when, say, the security system is armed in away mode. I love lighting control and the benefits it can add to your lifestyle in increasing security, aesthetics and ease of operation but I have seen some arms of the industry actually promote lighting control systems as the killer application in energy reducing automation. I, and others at the meeting, believe that lighting controls are only a small part of a comprehensive approach to "Greening" via home automation. Far greater benefits can be realized through advanced controls of HVAC systems, irrigation controls, motorized window treatments and others.
With that in mind, there was considerable discussion on how we are gaining some benefits through different lighting control strategies. I, for one, have heavily invested in CFL bulbs in my own home. The quality of product and light has increased exponentially over the years and my family is happy with the results. By converting over half of our existing incandescent loads, we have lost the aesthetic advantages of dimming those same loads but, we have decreased the operation costs by nearly four KWh's per day. Larry, a member of the group has taken a different and very interesting approach to his home's system. He has retained the use of dimming capabilities by switching his lamps out with halogen bulbs that are set up to turn on at only fifty percent. By using halogen bulbs in his fixtures, he still gets a high lumen output but has reduced the overall energy consumed by, some calculations would show, nearly forty percent (there is a nonlinear relationship between dimming level and power usage). He still has the ability to raise the light level significantly (for cleaning, looking for lost keys, etc.) when needed but reaps the benefits of lighting controls on both his pocket book and carbon footprint. After some reflection, I have taken this idea and altered it to work for my family in our home. For those fixtures left in our house that still house incandescent bulbs, I have programmed the dimmers to light at only eighty percent when initially pressed and only climb to ninety percent on a second press. Using a combination of Lutron's Radio RA and HAI's UPB devices in my home, the programming was simple and, I hope to find, effective.
We also discussed, at length, the use of a home automation system to reduce the consumption of water used (a subject that is a major focus of mine) in our irrigation systems. Several of us have removed the standard timers used in our sprinkler systems and, instead, allow our vastly more advanced automation controllers to dictate when and if our sprinklers run. For example, if the system sees that certain parameters (such as wind speed, recent rainfall, temperature, etc.) have not been met or have been exceeded, it can then either run the zones at altered times, altered length of soak or not run at all. All of this happens automatically and doesn't require constant tinkering with a frustrating, boring sprinkler timer. Of all the discussion on the subject, the idea that stuck out for me was when we discussed when to water or lawns. The idea, so simple it never crossed my mind, that when soil, like most other materials, is cool, it contracts and when it's warm it expands. When it's contracted, bits and pieces recede from one another leaving space between them allowing for water to more easily penetrate and absorb. When it has expanded, those voids are compressed and there is less room left for water to soak into and, thus, excess water simply runs off the lawn and into our gutters. Cool. Like I said, so simple, it never crossed my mind. That means that we should get more effective, efficient use of our water if we were to water the sod at the coolest portion of the day which will generally mean early morning, prior to sunrise. Combine better timing with staggered run times and you allow the soil to absorb the absolute maximum of water with the lowest level of waste.
So, those were the two ideas that really stood out for me and make a great deal of sense. I believe firmly in the concept of "Green" efforts being aided through the use of smart implementation of electronics and I couldn't have been more pleased with the engaged, lively discussion shared at the meeting. I will invite the other members present to leave comments below on what may have given them new ideas to implement and I look forward to future meetings of the group...