I have this distict memory of staying in a hotel in Chicago and looking across at the office building and wondering why they didnt turn their lights off at night. Well this new system could help with that problem as well as help monitor energy use. These new systems that have been developed can observe when there is sunlight streaming into the building and turn the lights down in certain areas. It also allows people to contro the lights by remote at their own desks or offices. It will also allow the electric company to observe the energy use in more detail then it can currently and the company can also observe it in close detail as well. Basically it is giving building owners more control of lighting but they dont need to rewire the whole building.
This seems like a genius idea! Some of the facts in this article were incredible. Such as when you allow people to control their own lights at their workstation energy consumption is reduced by 72% Imagine how much energy could be saved if all of the office buildings just in New York began using this to monitor and control their energy consumption. This could be a revolutionary development! Not only for the environmental reasons but also econmically. Because businesses no longer have as high energy consumption they also have lower utilities costs. As the developers believe as well I dont think these developments should stop here. Air conditioning and heat, water use reguation and maybe even something having to do with paper could all be extremely helpful to the environment and again economically as well. One of the main incentives for businesses to purchase these new technologies im afraid is not going to be the ecological incenteves but rather the economical incentives. This provides both without being lots of work or a major change to the workplace as far as peoples actions are concerned. Im not sure who would oppose this idea. The energy companies perhaps but even then I dont think they would oppose it. Overall, this seems like a wonderful new technology that will lead itself to many others shortly all which will have great environmental impact. http://http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18955-green-machine-hitting-the-lights-in-wasteful-offices.html
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I recently came across this article too! I agree that there are a myriad of measures we could be taking to reduce our environmental impact that would require little effort or sacrifice, and this is surely one of them. This is especially applicable in large office buildings which have centralized heating and cooling systems, and operate on a large-scale light system.
ReplyDeleteI strongly support these new systems. The only problem I can think of at this moment is the cost of these systems but with a reduction of 72% of energy used the payback would almost be immediate! Also this is a great idea because not only would it help the environment and cut the cost down for these big corporations, but also that money saved could also help us stimulate the economy and get us out of this recession! I don't see why this hasn't already been introduced yet.
ReplyDeleteAt my house we actually have a central control that allows you to turn off any light anywhere in the house. It is extremely helpful when everyone leaves the house or everyone is in bed, all you have to do is press one button and all the lights are off. The convenience makes all the difference. This system is absolutely amazing and cost efficient! Actually, just reducing the strength of the lights in a home or office from 100% to 90% can save loads of money. Natural sunlight helps as well.
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