Home Climate Control and Energy Management

The current cost of electricity in Ontario - including electricity, distribution, administration, GST and debt retirement charges - is approximately 10 cents per KwH and rising. Utilities across the country predict energy price increases that exceed inflation for years to come. Utility vendors believe the technology of home automation systems will save significant amounts of energy, reflecting savings from automatic shut-off features and occupancy sensors. Canadian consumers want to save money on their electricity bills and reduce the Greenhouse Gas emissions that contribute to pollution and climate change.

Photo Sensors for Occupancy and Remote Control of Lighting and Appliances used as individual device controllers, have a proven track record of energy savings and are considered the primary energy-saving applications in home automation systems. Occupancy sensor technologies save the automated homeowner energy and money by limiting lighting, appliance usage, and space conditioning. Photo sensors adjust the lighting in a room to take advantage of daylight. When tied to a home automation system, heating, cooling, and ventilation systems (HVAC) can be adjusted to account for passive solar heat gains. Systems connected to a home automation controller can also be turned on or off by telephone, cell phone or via the Internet, so the home is comfortable when the owner arrives.

Zoned and Programmable HVAC
Home automation systems also control temperature within different zones of a home. They operate as programmable thermostats and regulate household temperatures on a room-by-room basis, instead of the whole house. For example, rooms where the family spends a great deal of time can be allotted heat on a more regular basis than seldom-used rooms. When hooked up to occupancy sensors, the zones are only activated when occupied. In one high-tech application, people carry sensors that are programmed to their personal preferences. The system reads these sensors when people enter a room and adjust the environment accordingly. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination.

Air Quality
In many tightly constructed, energy-efficient homes, air quality and ventilation are a concern. While heat recovery ventilators recover most of the heat from exhausted air, a home automation system could control the ventilation system to operate only when the house is occupied. Additional sensors could also control the humidity.

Future Considerations
Utilities are currently experimenting with and preparing to introduce new initiatives to reduce power consumption and provide better power usage leveling. Some examples are:

• Staged power return
• Load shifting and load management

Once the homeowner has integrated an automation controller, further energy saving possibilities will be easily realized. Also, many appliance manufacturers are already incorporating features to allow the utilities or the homeowner to control them for more efficient operation.