The Department of Energy estimates that 10 to 15 percent of your home's energy is consumed when electronics and appliances are in "standby" mode. (According to the DOE, that number will reach 20 percent by 2010.)
To cut back on this "vampire" or "parasite" power, you can retrofit the new GreenSwitch energy management system into your home. Flipping one "master switch," installed near the front door, wirelessly controls designated light switches, power outlets, and thermostats throughout the house.
A complete GreenSwitch system comes with one master switch, a thermostat, 4 "slave" wall switches, and 4 outlets and costs $1,125 ($240 professional installation is also available). Additionally, you can customize a system for your home by adding extra outlets ($88.75 each), slave switches ($88.75 each) and thermostats ($253 each) as needed.
The GreenSwitch thermostat links up to your existing climate control (heating, cooling, and fan). After installation, you create a preset "unoccupied" mode, which will be activated when the master switch is flipped.
Each outlet and light switch has the same wiring as a standard electrical set-up with the addition of an antenna wire, which receives on/off messages from the master switch via a controlled RF connection. There are also split receptacles, which allow you to have one plug on the system (say a lamp) while another (say an alarm clock) is not. Plus, everything on the system has manual override, so you can still turn on any device or switch even when the master switch is set to "off."
If you're leaving the house at night, the system functions on a 30-second delay, so al the lights won't shut off immediately, and you have time to exit the house before the power shuts down.
Hotel chains including Embassy Suites, Holiday Inn, and Westin have already adopted the GreenSwitch system and have saved anywhere from 25 to 45 percent on their energy costs and recovered the entire cost of the system in just 10 months, according to GreenSwitch CEO Gregory Hood. Everyday consumers, he estimates, will see a full return of their investment within 2 years.
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September 11, 2007 12:52 PM
This sounds great for a business (or at least the example cost savings certainly sound great), but, although it sounds like a great idea for a home, I'm not really seeing how it could be financially viable in a home, when priced at over $1,000.
Payback period is going to be closely linked to the energy savings made, which are going to be closely linked to the original energy bill (I'm assuming there are big economies of scale in installing a system like this). If a big hotel can recover costs in 10 months, surely it's going to take a lot more than two years for the average home to recover costs? Especially as, in a typical home, it's not so difficult to switch equipment off manually (unlike a big business where it becomes more difficult to ensure that things get switched off).
Is the price not a bit high for the savings that a domestic user would be likely to make? Or is this looking to be more of a convenience product? Or am I underestimating domestic energy wastage...? (Although I work in the energy management field, I must confess I deal mainly with commercial energy management.)
September 12, 2007 10:03 PM
First of all, Who would want to turn OFF their thermostat, come home 9 hours later to find frozen (or cooked) pipes and dead pets?
Second, who can afford to pay over $1200 bucks for a fancy wirless switch. try the x10 system for a LOT less money.
This MAY be a good idea on the drawing board but not in practice, application or marketing.
September 15, 2007 8:17 AM
The GreenSwitch does not turn off your thermostat, it sets it back to an economy mode. About 45% of home energy consumption comes from AC and Heat in the home. This system is both an energy saving product and a convenience product. In home tests are under way to provide true data in energy savings, the current results are VERY encouraging. To put energy use in the home in perspective, the average home in the US consumes about 12,000 kWh per year. So we can easily provide savings for the average with a good payback. X-10 is a solution, but it has some significant differences. It depends on multiple button remotes, and I dont want to search for a remote, X-10 does not control the HVAC and x-10 is an add on product that is on the exterior of the wall plugs. GreenSwitch is integrated in the home and looks no different that what you currently operate. We realize GreenSwitch is not for everybody, but everybody can use it and save energy. It is a terrific product in practice. It is 2.4 GHz on a zigbee protocol, so adding to the system with different technologies is possible and coming soon. There are many home automation systems that cost over $50,000, so we are a much cheaper solution.