Step number one in going solar is to evaluate your home’s energy consumption. Furthermore, the best way to minimize the initial costs of the solar transition, as well as maximize the value and effect of your solar system, is to minimize energy usage while maximizing energy conservation. In the age of digital home technology, utilizing electronic sensors in the home is a great way to easily and effortlessly conserve water and electricity within the home.

And electronic sensors are increasing their impact on every facet of home energy consumption, both inside and out. Following are a number of home products, devices, and systems that can benefit greatly from the addition of electronic controls and sensors. These possibilities for today’s home will almost certainly be standard in the smarter and more efficient home of tomorrow.

Electronic Window Shades are a great way to regulate passive solar heating. They can be controlled remotely or as part of a programmable home automated system. On one hand you can program them to open in the morning as the sun rises to maximize solar heat gain in the cooler months, as well as program them to shut when it’s time to keep the heat out. Electronic window coverings come in the form of shades, blinds, shutters, and even draperies.

Electronic Windows take it one step further to include smart ventilation. Electronic sensors can detect changes in temperature or sunlight and open or close the windows based on the optimum for home comfort and efficiency. You can already see these in action at the world’s first “active” house, if you’re ever in Denmark.

Automated Lighting is another valuable option. Many homeowners tend to leave a light on when they leave the home, knowing that they’ll return home in the dark. Motion and home occupancy sensors can eliminate the need for that energy-sapping habit. Outdoor motion sensor lights are fairly common and enable you to find your keys without tripping over the doormat. But interior sensors are catching on as well. They’ll sense you and turn on the entry light and are also great in bathrooms. You can program the sensor’s sensitivity and duration of lighting to fit your needs. Programmable dimmer switches are another option that allows you to set shut off times (great for kids’ rooms).

Heating Systems also benefit from electronic sensors. Electronic, programmable thermostats are saving homeowners around the world a good portion of money on annual utility bills. Home heating and cooling is the number one consumer of energy in the modern home, so maximizing efficiency of the systems can have sizable benefits. Most digital thermostats allow a range of controls from daily and seasonal settings to easy manual override for vacations and other irregular variations in your energy consumption. Basically, they allow you to set your thermostat to fit your lifestyle. In the near future they’ll become even smarter, able to detect changes in temperature, humidity, and outdoor ambient temperature as part of a larger home automation system that will incessantly work to maximize efficiency and minimize consumption.

Landscaping irrigation is another wide open world of possibility for electronic sensors. They prevent unnecessary watering, thus saving you and your community a valuable resource, which many populous areas of the country are in desperate need of. Electronic sprinkler sensors detect changes in humidity, sunlight, and rainfall, shutting off or switching on as time and temperature dictate.

Electronic faucets are already a mainstay in the commercial and business communities. They save those businesses a lot of money and the community a lot of much needed water. They are finally catching on in residential homes as part of the smart home of the future. They automatically mix water as well so it never gets scalding hot or too, too cold. Look for future faucets to have digital, touch-pad controls and fixtures that only turn on when hand motion is detected as well as shut off in a preset amount of time.

Posted on June 29th in Solar Products by Dan.