Energy Efficiency and Technologies

Today, we have so many solutions available to save energy most people don't know where to start, or how to figure out what to use or even what is available. Hiring a knowledgeable consultant in a variety of areas of expertise is key. Simply hiring someone who has a specific certification or accreditation, will not get you what you need. One needs to hire someone with real world experience in designing and implementing a variety of systems.

At our company, we believe there is a connection between all sub-systems in todays homes and buildings. Controlling just HVAC or even lights, does not give the best overall savings and use of the systems. If you can integrate not only the latest technologies, but also as many of a buildings systems as possible, it will lead to the most overall savings and most efficient use of your system.

Some notable technologies available today are;
LED lights - these are significantly better than even a a year ago. Better light output, longer life, more dimming range, and more retrofittable units.

Daylight Harvesting System - these allow photo or light sensors placed in naturally lit areas to control whether lights come on or not, based on how much light is in the room. You can even have lights raise slowly in dim level as the sun sets.

Smart/learning" motion sensors - these are more advanced than even the newest off the shelf motion sensors. A company called Crestron (full disclosure -we sell Crestron products) makes a new motion sensor that learns how a room is used over the first 2 weeks it is installed. It also is a dual technology sensor, meaning it uses 2 different methods of sensing motion in a room. Finally, they are very good at sensing even the slightest movement, such as pen-strokes and keyboard typing.

Advanced Building Management Systems - these are building management systems that ecompass more than just HVAC and lighting control and can integrate a variety of different sub-systems and sensors into one easy to use system.

Combining these new technologies into one system and integrating some existing building technologies such as access control, security and other systems can really add to the efficient use, real-time savings and ease of access to any buildings systems.