Tech-Based Home Improvements Save Money, Make Homes Greener
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 9, 2007
Contact:
Crystal Borde
(202) 331-4323
cborde@vancomm.com
Tech-Based Home Improvements Save Money, Make Homes Greener
New, easy-to-use, affordable technologies allowing homeowners to save money and contribute to a healthier environment are now available in local home improvement stores. By installing energy management devices in their homes, homeowners will be able to reduce personal energy costs by using less electricity during peak periods, making managing power bills as easy as managing cell phone minutes, according to a report released by the Galvin Electricity Initiative.
New technologies, such as Web portals and remote devices, allow users to monitor fluctuating energy costs and run appliances remotely. These devices make it simple and affordable to create energy efficient homes and reduce carbon emissions, the report The Path to Perfect Power: New Technologies Advance Consumer Control found.
“By investing in this technology, homeowners will be able to use electricity how and when they want, saving energy costs and controlling their power usage,” said Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative. “Our research shows that consumers want to use electricity more wisely and create environmentally friendly homes. These tools make that possible.”
By 2010, products that make homes and workplaces smarter and more automated than ever before will be the hottest sector in the technology market. Some of these products are available now and will help consumers lessen energy demand, use the electrical grid more efficiently and will create less environment stress are:
- Programmable thermostats — Only a third of households have at least one programmable thermostat. For as low as $50, these thermostats help reduce energy use by automatically adjusting the home’s temperature settings while homeowners are away or sleeping.
- Home energy control systems — These energy management systems, available from AT&T, Intermatic and Honeywell, allow users to control their energy use like they control their entertainment systems, with the click of a remote control button or computer mouse.
- On-site energy storage units — During outages, home energy storage appliances provide increased reliability and power quality and act as a personal electricity “grid.”
Many of these home automation and building intelligence technologies can be purchased now at local home improvement retailers such as Lowe’s and Best Buy and through home and commercial contractors, telephone companies and energy retailers.
These devices create the opportunity for individuals to pay less for energy through a “demand-response” approach which allows customers to reduce power use during more expensive peak periods. Instead of paying a bill that amounts to an average of the variable cost of the power used over time, with demand- response, homeowners only pay the actual cost of the electricity they use.
The Galvin Electricity Initiative, launched by former Motorola chief Robert W. Galvin, is leading a campaign to transform the nation’s inefficient, unreliable and insecure electric power system into one that can truly meet consumers’ needs in this new century. Galvin’s vision for this transformation includes a major technical update of existing systems that allows for consumer control of energy use as well as the interconnection of smart microgrids and distributed generation systems around the country.
View the New Technologies for the Home fact sheet.
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