{"id":15050,"date":"2012-10-30T05:57:43","date_gmt":"2012-10-30T11:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=15050"},"modified":"2012-10-30T05:57:43","modified_gmt":"2012-10-30T11:57:43","slug":"the-wireless-hvac-going-mobile-can-increase-efficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/the-wireless-hvac-going-mobile-can-increase-efficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wireless HVAC: Going Mobile Can Increase Efficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"use<\/a><\/p>\n

Coming home to a cold house when winter kicks in is no fun, but neither is paying to heat an empty building all day long (or suffering the guilt of using unnecessary energy to do so). Although programmable thermostats<\/a> have long offered a solution to this dilemma, they require attention and planning. If you set your heat to come on at 6 pm and then decide to meet a friend out for dinner, that\u2019s an hour or two of wasted energy.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, as they say, there\u2019s an app for that. In fact, there are a lot of apps<\/a> for that \u2014 control of home energy usage via smartphones and mobile devices is the new frontier of energy efficiency.<\/p>\n

When we don\u2019t hesitate to head across the street to save a few pennies per gallon on gas, why would we play roulette with our monthly energy bill? Nowadays, the capability is there to know exactly what you\u2019re consuming and spending on electricity at any given moment, instead of simply waiting on the meter checker to come by and send you a bill.<\/p>\n

Although the most accessible \u2014 and most affordable \u2014 monitors are for heating and cooling systems (the biggest energy-consuming \u2018appliance\u2019 in most homes), refrigerators, washing machines, and dryers are now on the market that also tap into a smart grid, offering users the ability to monitor their exact energy usage, per appliance.<\/p>\n

Essentially, taking control of your home energy usage adds a central brain to a system that once ran without much central cohesion. If you\u2019re not already tracking your home energy use, here\u2019s how to get started.<\/p>\n

Install a Wirelessly Programmable Thermostat<\/h3>\n

Fortunately, the biggest thing you can do to cut back on energy consumption through control will pay for itself in less than a year\u2019s time. Wireless thermostats like the Ecobee<\/a>, Nest<\/a>, and Radio Thermostat<\/a>, as well as new models from traditional makers like Lennox and Honeywell, range from about $100 up to $300. Nest\u2019s models are pricey but simple to use, and they\u2019ve helped to pioneer the \u2018smart\u2019 thermostat trend, where the device learns how long it takes to heat or cool your home and responds accordingly.<\/p>\n

Lennox\u2019s iComfort thermostat<\/a> even looks up local weather forecasts, adjusting for outdoor temperature differences that could affect your preset conditions inside. Ecobee users love that the display matches the interface on their smartphone, keeping adjustments simple and easy to learn for any family member.<\/p>\n

Regardless of what thermostat you choose, the ability to monitor and control your home temperature from anywhere will undoubtedly save you money on your monthly bill. If you\u2019re not happy with (or you\u2019re confused by) the app that corresponds to the thermostat you choose, universal app controllers like Thermostapp work with many models via a simple sliding dial to set the temperature.<\/p>\n

Keep Track of Your Energy Use<\/h3>\n

For those ready to truly seize control of their home energy usage, up-to-the-minute monitoring allows them to pinpoint spikes in usage and isolate culprit appliances and devices (or even family members). Both Google and Microsoft spearheaded this movement in 2009 \u2014 Google launched their PowerMeter and Microsoft debuted Hohm. The programs had similar shelf lives, with each finding itself discontinued in the last year.<\/p>\n

Their legacy, however, lives on. These programs tried to link homeowners to their utility companies, displaying energy usage in real-time. Unfortunately, neither gained a critical mass of usage. Apps with similar capabilities are beginning to gain ground. Last September, the U.S. Department of Energy announced their Green Button Program<\/a>, an initiative that realizes \u201cthe common-sense idea that consumers should have access to their own energy usage information in a downloadable, easy-to-use electronic format.\u201d They\u2019ve released a corresponding app called Leafully<\/a> that tracks both usage and emissions, pairing that information with tips to help users reduce their energy needs and increase efficiency.<\/p>\n

Similar programs like the Wattvision Power Monitor<\/a> and eMonitor<\/a> allow real-time energy usage monitoring from their mobile websites. When people turn on the computer and see the numbers jump, they\u2019ll think twice about leaving it on all night long.<\/p>\n

Spread the Word<\/h3>\n

Leafully connects to Facebook, letting users share their savings with friends. That parallels the work of software company Opower, which uses a Facebook \u2018Social Energy\u2019 plug-in to compare energy use between friends (and against others in a city, state, or nationally) and create a social motivator to save. Although the competitive streak in some people could leave them foregoing heat on freezing nights to \u2018beat\u2019 their friend, few people will (hopefully) go so far as to unplug their refrigerator.<\/p>\n

By making efficiency and conservation a social norm, and giving people the power to track their usage and keep tabs on appliances, the pressure will be on manufacturers to produce more efficient models.<\/p>\n

The benefits of increasing user control and knowledge of energy use are countless, and will undoubtedly continue to shape the appliance and home-building industries for years to come. Best of all, the next time you\u2019re freezing under the covers, you don\u2019t have to brave the chilly walk to the thermostat \u2014 there\u2019s an app for that.<\/p>\n

Jay Harris is a Home Depot “on the floor” sales associate, and a regular contributor to Home Depot\u2019s blog. His interests include solar panels, home automation<\/a> and home security<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Image credit:<\/strong> Chris JL<\/a> via photopin<\/a> cc<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we don\u2019t hesitate to head across the street to save a few pennies per gallon on gas, why would we play roulette with our monthly energy bill? 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