Habit Learning Device Will Lower Energy Bills
Saving energy and money at home through automation has been around for a number of years. We have coffee pots and toasters that turn themselves on at specific times so that breakfast is ready for you when you wake up. Now we have home automation systems that learn how you use energy at home and then provide you insightful information which you can put to use to save money on your energy bills. These savings can amount to up to 20 per cent of your normal monthly bill.
One of the integral parts of this system is what designers at Britain's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council are calling the Wattbox. This energy saving device is a new approach to energy efficient home improvements. This Wattbox works well with solar energy systems as well as traditional wire-delivered electrical grids, to help homeowners become more energy efficient. The suggestions provided by this system will help you get the most out of whatever energy delivering system you're currently using.
Now we have home automation systems that learn how you use energy at home and then provide you insightful information which you can put to use to save money on your energy bills
The development team found that 1 of the areas their system can provide the most beneficial information and savings is in saving money on fuel costs. Current home heating controls are difficult to understand and make it difficult to set correctly to save money on fuel costs. The design, implementation and use of an intelligent automated system can help homeowners save up to 14 per cent on heating and hot water usage alone. The key is taking the complexity out of the controls for these systems.
The controls of the Wattbox are user friendly and very intuitive. Learning your usage patterns and when you use certain appliances, the Wattbox teaches itself your schedule and creates its own accordingly. If, after learning your routines and usage patterns, you find it isn't supplying enough heat for the house, you just need to tell it to make the house warmer for you. When you make changes to the settings decided upon by the unit, it will display what the change you made will save or cost over the setting decided upon by the unit. Immediate results are shown because research shows that if you can see what your normal usage costs, then you'll be more inclined to make energy saving choices.
Development of this system was a multidisciplinary project which investigated ways of maintaining building comfort while still giving significant savings in energy and money. This method of helping people save money and energy does so by not making the user understand the science involved in our energy use.
