Earlier this year, I wrote a blog in which I laid out some goals for The Audio Guy for this year and one of those goals was to develop an area on our website dedicated to environmentally friendly, or “green”, products and services.
I have been watching manufacturers develop more and more green products this year and am sure that we will see more roll out next month at the CEDIA show. So this seemed like the perfect opportunity to introduce some current products and manufacturers as well as some services that are designed to be eco-friendly.
Probably one of the most “all-encompassing” technologies for energy conservation is home automation. As more and more companies develop products that can be integrated into home automation systems, the capacity to save electricity keeps rising exponentially. Here are just a few simple examples of how some of these systems can save electricity. Every morning before school, my kids do the same morning ritual and every morning after they have left for school, I do my same ritual as well – go up stairs and turn every light off. When I’m home, that’s not that big of a deal but if we don’t catch it before we leave, as many as 14 light bulbs could be left on all day long. Maybe it isn’t a huge drain on the electric bill, but it adds up and also generates a lot of heat which makes the a/c work harder (and when it’s 105° outside here in Dallas, I don’t want my a/c working any harder than it has too!)
Speaking of a/c, home automation systems can also tie in the HVAC system in your home to fully automate the cooling and heating of your home. True, you can do this with a programmable thermostat, but can you change it from anywhere in the world? With an IP based control system like NetStreams (www.netstrems.com) you can control HVAC, lighting, security… any system that ties into your NetStreams system from your laptop or JAVA based hand held device from anywhere! So you get to the office and realize you forgot to turn off the lights after the kids and you log on to your office computer and voila, lights off. Say someone decided they were uncomfortably warm and set the a/c to 50°, just move to the thermostat control in the software and set it back to where you want it. It’s that simple!
Not so obvious eco-friendly products include the move to digital amplifiers that draw less power than analog amplifiers, and also produce less heat as well. Subwoofer manufacturer Velodyne (www.velodyne.com) is currently working on getting their products Energy Star compliant.
Samsung (www.samsung.com) along with other television manufacturers have introduced LCD TV’s that feature full LED backlighting. The company’s 8000 series featured edge-lit LED lighting.
The backlit panels will feature local dimming, which reduces energy consumption and improves black levels and contrast. These televisions will comply with Energy Star 3.0 ratings, and include an optimized energy-savings mode that adjusts the backlight and picture quality without sacrificing the overall viewing experience.
Here at The Audio Guy, we are always looking at ways to reduce our carbon footprint and are currently investigating purchasing a Ford Transit with an estimated 22 MPG city and 25 MPG highway gas mileage for our delivery vehicle as just one way to help conserve energy.
We will also continue to be on the lookout for products for our clients that want to “go green” in their homes and in the way we do business. Keep checking back for more articles, links, and the development of the “green” section of the website.
-Clay Hankins is the CEO of The Audio Guy, LLC located in the
Dallas, TX area and serving the Dallas Home Theater, Media Rooms and surrounding
DFW area markets.
Posted
08-15-2009 11:00 AM
by
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