Reduces Energy Cost and Adds Convenience
December 1, 2010

JCL Automation recently purchased an existing property to use as a demo home and office. Having previous experience with demo homes this time they decided to focus on energy savings.

This 5 year old property had an abundance of 3 and 4-way light switches installed throughout the home. This was actually a good thing as it enabled them to add convenience when replacing the standard switches and dimmers with wireless devices from Control4.

Wireless home control networks allow only one switch or dimmer to be wired directly to the lighting load. So many of the extra n-way switches can be replaced with 3 or 6-Button Keypads providing indirect control of the lighting load, but also other useful "one-button" controls. These "controls" can impact a single device or launch an entire scene completely changing the ambience in the room or a whole section of the home.

The photo above shows wall switches below a volume control for patio speakers installed when the home was built. This switch bank includes a 3-button keypad used to launch music in the family room and control the volume up/down, along with a wireless dimmer and 2 wireless switches to control the patio lights and two ceiling fans on this large patio. Note the LEDs on the wireless devices can be color-coordinated with the room decor and configured to display a different color when a device or scene is activated.

The demo home was outfitted with 10 wireless motion sensors from Card Access (pictured at right). These are used to detect the presence of a person in a certain area or room. When that presence is no longer indicated or a time period expires lights or exhaust and ceiling fans initially turned on by the home controller are turned off . The motion sensors are battery powered and will notify the home controller when the battery is low and critically low. The system can take a number of actions where sending the homeowner an email is the most popular one.

The conventional thermostats installed when the home was built were also replaced with wireless thermostats to control a heat pump for a casita and two A/C units and a gas furnace for the main home. Since electricity is more expensive from noon to 7PM on weekdays, tight control of the temperature setpoints represents the largest area for energy savings. The home controller is programmed to adjust the setpoints each weekday during the higher cost period and return the settings to the more comfortable setpoints the rest of the day.

Of course on mild days you may want to have a few windows and/or sliding doors open for fresh air. Above is a photo of a Card Access wireless contact sensor (above the drapery rod) connected to GRI surface mount magnetic sensors on the door to detect when the door is open. The nearby HVAC system is turned off when any door or window with a contact sensor is opened, and reset when the sensor is closed again.

Note the motion and contact sensors can also form the basis for a security solution, which can be further enhanced to a surveillance solution by installing conventional or IP video cameras.

This new demo home is located in the community of Vistancia, northwest of Phoenix, AZ. Visitors are welcome and should call 866-529-6716 if interested in viewing the home and system features.