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The Unbelievably Teched-Out Houses of Smart-Home Obsessives

5 points by tortilla 8y ago

forapurpose 8y ago
I think smart home tech has value, but not so much in turning on lights, fans, and coffee makers on, and adjusting thermostats for convenience. How about something of value? For example, for lighting, automation could open window coverings allowing in natural light, sensors could detect how much additional artificial light is needed, and dimmers could adjust artificial light sources appropriately (and specifically to areas of the room). Or, I expect a lot of energy could be saved by the following intelligent cooling system: Input the day's forecast for outside temperature from an Internet source and the current outside conditions from a thermometer. Calculate expected interior conditions based on prior data about internal conditions relative to external (internal usually is warmer AFAIK, due to people and machines), and take the following remedial actions as needed: (A) If the internal temperature won't exceed a comfortable upper limit, leave external ventilation open. (B) If external temperature is acceptable but internal temperature will be too warm, increase ventilation by adjusting speed of an exhaust fan, and activate ceiling fans in rooms where sensors detect people and too much heat. Also, sensors can identify locations around the outside of the building with the coolest air (e.g., shady areas), and the system can open ventilation inputs in those locations and close them in others. (C) If the forecast external temperature will be too warm, at coolest time of day (e.g., just before sunrise) use ventilation to equalize internal and external temperatures and then close ventilation, trapping coolest air inside. Also, as needed turn on ceiling fans in rooms where sensors detect people and too much heat. (D) If the above won't be sufficient, turn on artificial cooling (air conditioning) as needed, but only in regions of house where it's needed and will be used. My inspiration is that I do (C) manually on hot days, and simply trapping the cooler air makes a big difference for the whole day. However, I'm not always available to do it, and a lot of unnecessary A/C is used because of it.
slededit 8y ago
Automatic window coverings are probably the killer application. It has a huge improvement in livability and can dramatically reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling.

5 points by tortilla 8y ago

I think smart home tech has value, but not so much in turning on lights, fans, and coffee makers on, and adjusting thermostats for convenience. How about something of value? For example, for lighting, automation could open window coverings allowing in natural light, sensors could detect how much additional artificial light is needed, and dimmers could adjust artificial light sources appropriately (and specifically to areas of the room). Or, I expect a lot of energy could be saved by the following intelligent cooling system: Input the day's forecast for outside temperature from an Internet source and the current outside conditions from a thermometer. Calculate expected interior conditions based on prior data about internal conditions relative to external (internal usually is warmer AFAIK, due to people and machines), and take the following remedial actions as needed: (A) If the internal temperature won't exceed a comfortable upper limit, leave external ventilation open. (B) If external temperature is acceptable but internal temperature will be too warm, increase ventilation by adjusting speed of an exhaust fan, and activate ceiling fans in rooms where sensors detect people and too much heat. Also, sensors can identify locations around the outside of the building with the coolest air (e.g., shady areas), and the system can open ventilation inputs in those locations and close them in others. (C) If the forecast external temperature will be too warm, at coolest time of day (e.g., just before sunrise) use ventilation to equalize internal and external temperatures and then close ventilation, trapping coolest air inside. Also, as needed turn on ceiling fans in rooms where sensors detect people and too much heat. (D) If the above won't be sufficient, turn on artificial cooling (air conditioning) as needed, but only in regions of house where it's needed and will be used. My inspiration is that I do (C) manually on hot days, and simply trapping the cooler air makes a big difference for the whole day. However, I'm not always available to do it, and a lot of unnecessary A/C is used because of it.

slededit 8y ago

Automatic window coverings are probably the killer application. It has a huge improvement in livability and can dramatically reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling.