SMART HOME«energy efficiency»

Abdullah Topçu

Mechanical Engineer

Index

• What is a smart home?

• Smart home’s features

• Smart home’s appliances

• Research smart home’s appliances viewpoint of energyefficiency

• How do we save energy?

• Renewable energy for smart homes?

• An example for a energy efficient smart home

What is a «Smart Home»

A «smart home" can be defined as a residence

equipped with computing and information

technology which anticipates and responds to

the needs of the occupants, working to

promote their comfort, convenience, security

and entertainment through the management

of technology within the home and connections

to the world beyond.

But a smart home has to be energy efficient. Altough we can not imagine that a smart

home has huge energy and water consumption. If a home has huge energy

concumption we can not called it «smart home» It is a dumb home.

Total Number Of Smart Homes

0

5

10

15

20

25

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Europe North America

Mill

ion

ho

me

s

Year

What kind of properties does a smarthome have?

• The internet of things

• It keeps track of your preferences

• Devices are automated

• It can be remotely accessed andcontolled

• Effective feedback systems

• Ease of Access

• Low energy consumption

• Energy sustainable

Smart home appliances’ features

We use a lot of appliances and equipments in our smart

homes. We use network appliances and sensors. All of them

use electricity. And we install many smart devices at home.

Smart TV, refrigerator, owen, lightings, bathtub, sinks,

faucets, cameras, shutters, hvac equipments, security

equipments, smart phones etc. All of them use electiricity

and they help the smart grid sytem while comminicate each

other. A main computer operate all of these appliances. All of

these appliances use electricity. All of these ought to be low

energy consumption. If they use elecetricity too much, we pay

so much money for bills. So these appliances convert to

smart home but if we look from the viewpoint of energy

efficiency the home is dumb. Because none of smart home

spend money too much.

How much electricity do your appliances use?

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

Electric blanket

Home computer

Television

Microwave owen

Dehumidifier

Well pump

Aquarium

Dishwasher

Electric cooking

Freezer

Waterbed heater

Clothes dryer

Washing machine

Refrigerator

Pool pump

Spa (pump and heater)

Cost/Year (kW)

Cost/Year (kW)

Kitchen equipmentsMany homeowners think that smart technology

is only for people who want to have a remote

control to everything! On the contrary, many

smart home technologies actually help keep

your family safe while saving you water and

energy in the kitchen. Induction cooktops are

one of these examples that produce heat that

only heats the cookware when the metal comes

in contact with the induction cooktop surface.

However conventional cooktops use energy inefficiently. Gas delivers only 55% to the pan and

traditional electric about 65%, Induction is 90%. This means a safer kitchen to work in, and less

heat being generated for comfort while cooking.

Bathroom equipmentsWhile enjoying your bathroom is one topic,

enjoying the savings on your monthly water bill

is another. Instead of dreading your water

usage each month, take advantage of smart

water fixtures that use less water but have

larger water droplets to produce a more

luxurious experience? Some faucets can turn on

and off automatically by motion and the

temperature of the water can be seen by a color

LED light indicator before putting your hands under the water. These smart technologies ensure a

better and safer user experience and less water wasted – all at once.

HVAC equipmentsYour daily home can use a lot of energy for

cooling and heating to keep your family

comfortable in all seasons and climates of the

world. In order to do this without costing a

fortune for fluctuations of outdoor air

temperatures, your home can have smart

technology that helps you control and monitor

your energy usage with thermostats. It “learns”

your family’s lifestyle and connected to a Wi-Fi

Connection enables homeowners to control settings from any internet enabled smart device.

Register your email and home location and you will get monthly energy usage reports sent to you

directly to see how you compare with other homeowners in your city.

Smart home architectural featuresHeating and cooling doesn’t involve innovative

electronics but rather placement of windows

and doors and the position of your home can

help take advantage of nature’s seasons and

temperature changes naturally. A passive house

is designed to maximize its ability to heat itself

in winter and cool itself in summer. This is

designed by careful consideration of a home’s

site and how the sun moves across the sky,

where the trees and other vegetation are located, where the winter winds come from, etc. This

“smart” technology of this Passive House is an example of using the Earth’s resources and

adapting our home’s to work with nature.

How do we save energy?

How do we save energy?Smart Thermostats

Some little thermostats must be intelligent. You

can plug on it a wall after it works itself. It

tracks your habits and daily life. After it will run

your home temperature settings all by itself and

can help save money on energy bills. It learns

when you wake up and will adjust the

temperature to a comfortable setting before

your feet hit the floor in the morning.

It will also learn when you go to work, come home from work. And the thermostats might have Wi-

Fi connection, and connect the forecasts. Then it will also adjust itself automatically depending on

the weather.

How do we save energy?Light Occupancy Sensors

Installing light occupancy sensors to turn off or

on the lights has the potential to save money.

As any parent knows, no matter how many

times you remind your children to turn off lights

they never seem to remember. The general

estimation of how much money is wasted every

year on lights which get left on ranges in

hundreds of dollars.

Then plug the light into the new sensor, attach multiple lights to it, and you’re done. Highly

trafficked rooms will probably not benefit much from this technology, but low to medium

trafficked rooms, which often have lights forgotten in the on position will be the best bet.

How do we save energy?Water Saving

Water is very important source for humanity.

And we have not enough water sources. At the

same time a huge water scarcity is coming. So

we have to use the valuable material carefully.

We will save electricity when we save water.

Because they are connected each other. We can

save water a few simple ways. For example we

can use shower pebble that is alerted when you use so much water. And we can use a simple

faucet aerator or water efficiency aerator.

How do we save energy?Insulation

It is important to seal up any air leaks to keep

heat inside. Start by checking the weather

stripping around your windows and doors;

replace if it appears worn. Next, check for any

leaks where hot air can seep out into an

unfinished attic space. Cuts made into the

drywall to install lighting fixtures and ceiling

fans create easy escape routes for air too. Seal the openings using a silicon or latex caulk. By

sealing air leaks, you can realize about thirty percent in energy savings.

How do we save energy?Floor Textile

Area rugs often used as a design element in a

room, add color and style while unifying a

space. During the cold winter months, they

serve an important function too. Rugs add

another layer of insulation to the floor, trapping

the cool air underneath and keep it from

seeping up and cooling the room. The warmth

of the rug will keep your feet toasty too.

The best way to hold your heating costs down is heat your home efficiently while keeping the cold

out. A little more insulation in the attic, heavy window treatments or an extra layer on the floor will

help to keep a room warm.

RENEWABLE ENERGY FOR SMART HOMES

WIND SOLAR

Solar energy in Smart HomesSolar panels convert the energy from the sun

into electricity which is used in the home.

Homes located in geographical areas with more

sunlight will benefit more from these energy

solutions. The direction of the roof also plays an

important role in using energy from the sun.

You’ll also want to consider the size of your

home, how much energy you want to replace

with renewables, and manufacture/government

rebates and tax incentives for using solar.

In general, if your home uses lots of electricity you begin to save money with solar energy very

quickly. By combining solar renewable energy and home automation systems this becomes a

smart alternative to getting electricity from the power company.

Wind energy in Smart HomesPurchasing and using home wind turbines to

create electricity is another possibility in the

quest to save money. The most effective wind

turbines are not small. Many of them reach

heights up to 6 or 8 meter in the air to produce

the needed energy from the wind. If a tall wind

turbine is going to be a problem as an eyesore

this might not be a good solution. The good

news is that even though they are tall there is

not a problem with wind noise so they won’t be disturbing yourself or the neighbors by the noise

they create. But some companies manufacture small wind turbine generators that produce 200-

400 watts daily.

An example for a Energy Efficient Smart HomeWe can see an example left side

for smart home. All appliances

and systems are intelligent and

energy efficient. All equipment

have low energy consumption.

Insulation is everywhere and home

was built as a passive home. The

home uses wind and solar energy.

Heating and cooling systems are

heat pump. At least a computer

operates all of them. The

computer connected to internet

and gets a lot of information about

forecast, electiricity grid etc.

References

[1] Inside the Smart Home, Richard Harper, 2003

[2] The Energy-Smart House, From the editors of Fine Homebuildings, 2011

[3] Freshome, Design and Architecture, http://freshome.com

[4] Honda Smart Homes, http://www.hondasmarthome.com

[5] Enerji Enstitüsü, http://enerjienstitusu.com

[6] Property News, http://www.privateproperty.com.ng