Cooperative Living February 2016 - 14

EnergyROI | by Tom Tate, Contributing Writer
The IoT
The Internet of Things
I
f you have heard the phrase, " the
Internet of Things or IoT, " raise your
hand. Good. If you understand what
the IoT is, keep your hands up. Thank
you. For those not familiar with the IoT,
please read on.
The IoT is the name being applied to
the growing number of products that can
connect to the Internet. These include
individual light bulbs, security cameras,
thermostats, appliances, televisions,
smoke detectors, window blinds, garage
doors and more. It seems every
manufacturer under the sun is adding
Internet connectivity to their products.
What is driving this push to put
everything online? Convenience,
comfort, savings and control are the top
contenders in my book. For this article
let's look at how the IoT can help you
reduce your energy use and save money.
Nearly all IoT devices connect to the
Internet wirelessly. This has the benefits
of using an existing wireless network and
eliminating wiring hassles. Some devices
will connect via your standard Wi-Fi
network while others connect to a hub
that is connected to the Internet. Frankly,
I prefer the Wi-Fi approach because I
already have my network and I am not
locked into one manufacturer's
proprietary hardware.
Let's look at how you can use these
devices and the IoT to save energy. The
smart thermostat is my favorite for energy
savings. Two key features equip smart
thermostats to provide savings while
maintaining comfort and increasing
convenience. Learning thermostats don't
require any special programming by the
user. You simply tell the thermostat your
maximum and minimum temperatures
and leave it alone. Using motion sensors,
the thermostat can tell when you are
home and when you aren't. It creates a
program that only conditions the space
to your desired temperature when
somebody is in the house. Other times,
it is in a conservation/away mode.
12 | Cooperative Living | February 2016
is the name being
applied to the growing
number of products that
can connect to the
Internet.
The second feature is geofencing. In
The smartphone is on its way to being
this case, you pair your smartphone to the
thermostat and set a distance from home
as the geofence, say 2 miles. Now, when
you leave, the phone sends your location
to the thermostat so it will know when
you have moved past the fence's limit.
The temperature goes into the
conservation/away mode. When you
cross the geofence line coming back, it
turns on the home mode.
Lighting is another area of potential
savings, particularly in the winter when
the days are short. You can program lights
to come on in accordance with sunrise
and sunset. Instead of leaving a light on
so you won't arrive home to a dark house,
let the device do the work for you. While
I have not seen it yet, geofencing for
lighting is a terrific idea. You can also
program varied lighting schedules to
make your house look " lived in " while on
vacation to deter criminals.
the defacto control for all these
wonderful gadgets. The reason is quite
simple: smartphone users are rarely
without them and the phone gives you
access and control from anywhere in the
world ... as long as you have a signal.
When I installed my smart thermostat, I
had to use my smartphone. I couldn't
install it without one.
A lot of this may seem superficial, but
the potential for improved comfort,
convenience and efficiency is huge. And
the cost of entry is coming down. I
recommend giving the IoT a try and
deciding for yourself. A good place to
start is with a smart thermostat, as that
will provide the largest savings. While
not cheap, the payback can be fast.
And that's a good return on your
energy investment.
Oh, those with your hands still up can
put them down now. Sorry. 
www.co-opliving.com
ASKOLD ROMANOV/ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living February 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living February 2016
