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Would this actually save electricity? Wouldn't the power used by the Kinect and the host computer/server outweigh the electricity used by keeping a few unnecess

• noonespecial 16y ago
  His whole control computer uses around 5 watts. I think a Kinect might take 2 more. It doesn't take much lamp off time to break even and start seeing savings. But that's not why geeks do such things. If you're going to take over the world, the lights simply must automatically come on when entering your lair, accompanied by a cold, female, disembodied voice intoning "Welcome, Doctor". You are planning on doing the voice eventually as well, right Nitro?
  • nitrogen 16y ago
    Heh, there's already a voice, but for now it's just espeak or festival, and it's usually disabled. And yes, the system uses very, very little power compared to the lights. My light dimmer uses ~4 watts when off, while each single bulb uses 100 (still waiting for dimmable fluorescents to be able to dim smoothly to zero). I've measured the Kinect at ~4W as well. One thing to keep in mind with home automation is that, yes, it usually does save power, but that's not why you do it -- it's about saving time.
    • HyprMusic 16y ago
      Thanks for the info, I just wondered about power usage to understand the practicalities of the technology. I understand the other benefits, like the fact it looks awesome and none of your friend's houses can do it!