The need to reduce energy consumption and the technological age are positions that are far from each other. That's why the need for solutions for energy efficiency associated with modern life has has become a very topical question. Implications of energy waste spurred increasing calls for change, and deep technology companies offer a solution in the form of Smart Home.
Therefore, the introduction of Smart Home systems has made consumers more aware of their usage, and home control options.
We, at Echoo Group, provide the opportunity to become an investor in your living comfort, supplemented with increased safety and energy efficiency.
If there was ever a time to invest in an integrated home, it is now.
Research gives an approval
Research studies indicated the behavior of consumers might change when their consumption showed in data, and tips provided how to improve it. However, consumers tend go back to their bad habits in short term. Therefore, installing a Smart Home will do it for you automatically, and system will manage the energy as per the conditions defined by the client.
It’s no longer considered a luxury to have a Smart Home but is becoming more of a necessity, to at least build it at the base level so that it can be expanded and upgraded in the future.
What is smart home, and how does it help?
A smart home involves computer technology, communications technology, and image display technology in a single system that is connected to a network that provides control and management of systems and appliances.
An application of the Internet of Things, smart home technology makes it possible for humans in a household to monitor and control their electrical devices and functions in home. Smart home is created to unify devices, systems across the home and control them all from a single platform.
- Smart Lighting
- Climate control with smart thermostats, and integrated devices
- Safety, with motion detectors and security cameras
- Access control, with a video door station
- Multi-room, with music and video
- Blind control, watering system, and many other options
How can smart homes tackle the energy crisis?
Smart homes use less electricity and can save up to 30% energy usage compared to non-smart homes. Smart home can monitor energy use in a given area. It helps to identify and eliminate unnecessary energy consumption. For example, smart home can turn devices off when they are not being used. In this way, energy use becomes more efficient, benefiting both people’s monthly bills and the environment as less electricity needs to be generated.
Key elements for savings:
Lighting
Indoors, connected LED lighting systems (DALI) with embedded sensors can render buildings, which generate 40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, far more energy-efficient.
Occupancy sensors integrated into a connected lighting system can autonomously dim rooms and other spaces when unoccupied and illuminate them when people are present, providing a new degree of control over electricity use, so that gone would be old fashioned lighting regimes in which lights are either totally off or on, and often illuminate empty spaces.
Smart home system can analyse energy usage and help manage it, as it is delivering the consumer real-time insight and historical data on their energy consumption patterns.
“If we can understand where the energy is being used, then we can look at ways of reducing it.”
Smart home allows consumers to view their energy high-runners and adjust usage based on factors like time and day.
Climate control can provide zoned heating so that each room can have its own thermostatic control, thus only heating rooms that need heating. It can also be beneficial to install external weather stations that communicate with the smart home system to effectively act as a weather compensation system.
Smart window control includes control of blinds and curtains with just the touch of a single switch button or tablet. A smart home system can also automatically perform this task, for example, in bright sunshine to achieve energy savings while managing heat gain and reducing sunlight indoors if the temperature rises too much. Simple window contacts, when integrated into a home automation system, can be programmed to turn off the heating when the windows are open.
Smart window coverings can save you 11 to 20 % per year.
Enchanted Master Scenarios that also save
Function as “Master Off” switch on the wall that will reset the entire home when leaving the house to ensure that all lights and heating are turned off.
Function as “Eco-scene”can be created to activate at a specific time of day, turning off non-essential lights as well as reducing the demand on the HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system.”
Function as an "Alternative energy source" the smart home system can choose a renewable energy source when possible. For example, if you install solar panels and it's a sunny day, the smart home can select that energy source to supply the home according to demand
Cons of implementing a Smart home
A significant disadvantage of smart homes, why more people do not invest in such solutions, is the initial cost, which can be relatively high. However, if the homeowner has money to invest initially, it pays off in reduced bills over the years, and the non-financial side is a significant improvement in comfort level.
Even if there are no extra finances in the initial phase of house design or construction to implement a Smart Home system, it is important to consult with Smart Home experts in time about cabling and technical nuances that do not require large investments at the beginning, but are mandatory if there is a desire to build in the future integrated smart home system. This is where our Echoo Group consultants can be of great help.
Willingness to act and awareness is the only solution to support the reduction in costs
It is very important to increase consumer education about the possibilities of more efficient energy management. Most consumers are aware that they can have smart climate solutions, even motorized blinds and smart lighting, but don't have the information to take the next step and find a smart home consultant to work with. Education across municipalities, forward-thinking building and remodeling trades, architects and designers, and technology professionals are also key to growing adoption, this is why Echoo Group chooses to educate first through a variety of lectures and educational seminars.
Looking from a long-term perspective it shouldn’t even be an option to choose a smart home, it should be a construction standard. In a car, there is no option to choose whether powered windows or not, you just get them, same about air conditioning system, it is simply built-in. It should be the same with a smart home.
Be a smart investor, make smart choices!
For any questions about the design, integration of the smart home, contact us!
