conditioning systems on and off at preset
times and can reduce home heating costs by
20 percent, according to the Energy Conservancy. Look for the programmable thermostat to be increasingly integrated into
affordable and easy-to-use wireless home
automation network protocols.
Then there is the “smart” meter, which
creates an interactive relationship between the
home and the power grid. The most basic
smart meters are already being rolled out by
local electricity providers. These allow the utility to read the meters remotely, thus reducing
fuel costs incurred by having to read each
meter at the home and cutting the carbon
footprint caused by auto exhaust emissions.
But smart meters can accomplish much
more, by connecting wirelessly to home digital thermostats that can then be adjusted up
and down remotely by the utility company
itself. During extreme temperatures, when
power consumption is at its peak and power
costs increase, the utility would have the ability to change thermostat settings to reduce
demand. This would be done with the consent of homeowners, whose incentive would
be much lower electricity bills from reduced
off-peak prices.
Eventually, all consumable utilities in
homes will be able to be monitored by the
homeowner and the utility, moving consumers toward home “dashboards” that will provide instant feedback to families about how
they’re using energy, says Chris Dorsi, Costco
member and co-author of The Homeowner’s
Handbook to Energy Efficiency (Saturn Resource
Management, 2008). “The utility bill we get now
tells us how we used energy in the past, when
it’s too late to do anything about it,” he
explains. “Smart, interactive metering will
provide real-time feedback that will help
change our habits.”
Technology is often blamed for creating
energy crises in the first place, but it can also
offer powerful solutions. C
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Dan Daley writes often about energy-efficient
technologies for publications, including
Architect, Digital Home Online and Builder.
#393016
The Costco Connection
Here are just a few of the energy-saving
technology products you can find at Costco
warehouses and Costco.com.
• 13-watt and 23-watt CFLs to replace
60- and 100-watt conventional bulbs
• 5-watt LED floodlight bulbs to replace
45-watt conventional bulbs
• The Evolve eco-friendly shower head that
saves water if you step away from the
shower by stopping the flow to a trickle
• Solar chargers and panels
• Surge-protector power strips
• Energy Star TVs and appliances
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