Automated Savings

So you’re contemplating either an addition to your house or a complete remodel. You’ve saved your pennies, or you have enough equity in your property to get an equity line so you begin your journey of give and takes. You know this is the one major opportunity to do it right and so you don’t want to skimp on too many corners. But you have a budget to conform to so you begin to ascertain what is wanted, important, and critical in your remodel. Home automation for now seems to be a want and not a need, but there are several characteristics about it that make. 

You’ve heard and read about home automation. It used to be a thing of the future, George Jetson style features that were nice to wish for but completely unnecessary and impractical. You now enter into this new century with problems of global warming, rising utility rates, changes in Title 24 energy efficiency building codes, and new technology that has dramatically lowered the costs of home automation so significantly that it begins to appear that it may pay for itself on its savings alone.

Automated lighting control isn’t just a luxury it’s a new requirement in the Title 24 energy management codebook. A homeowner used to be able to get away with simply installing a couple of fluorescent light strips under the kitchen upper cabinets to provide ambient lighting for the kitchen. In an effort to thwart the high electrical consumption from the past, automated lighting uses its computer processor to light pathways in the house, turn on specific lights for common tasks when you arrive home. You never worry about lights being left on or that the right outdoor lights are being turned off, because lighting automation takes care of this for you.  

Did you know that dimming a light by 25% can save you 20% in energy costs? This will also extend the life of your incandescent bulb by 4x! So instead of replacing bulbs every year try not having to replace them but every four years. “We’ve lived in our remodeled home for now five years and with our automated lighting system we’ve only had to replace 7 out of the 123 light bulbs in our home,” said Stuart Lee, owner of Hi-Def Audio Video. That’s a savings of over $3000 in light bulbs alone plus an additional $4000 in electricity in that same time period. 

Excitedly Stuart said, “The savings of the electricity and light bulbs has already paid for the lighting system. We like also knowing that if we forgot to turn on our lights when we already left for a vacation we can go in on the Internet and switch our lighting system in Vacation Mode. This takes away the worries of the home looking empty while we’re away on vacation.” If you hear a bump in the night simply turn on the entire outside perimeter lights by the push of a single button next to your headboard. If you’re in the entertainment room getting ready for your guests to arrive, push another button on the wall and turn on your front door lights from any button that’s programmed in the house.

Programming your electric window shades to lower down when the sun is at its hottest will help reduce the demands on your climate control system. And watch your electricity bill drop by leaps and bounds as your Home Automation processor assists in the Energy Management of your home. With creative programming and occupancy sensors, from any room in the house or remotely via a web interface you can automatically tailor the temperature of each living space. 

A smart processor manages the home’s comfort systems to minimize energy usage by adjusting temperature, opening and closing blinds as needed to create the most efficient use of energy while maintaining a comfortable environment.

Sounds good so far? With the direction that PG&E rates are going, which of course can only be upwards there’s no question that this is no longer just a luxury option. Home automation just went from a want to a need in home construction.

To learn how Hi-Def Audio Video can incorporate an energy management system into your existing or new constructed home contact Stuart Lee at (408) 887-4479.