De Montfort University Designs New Device To Save Energy

Published: 04-Feb-2010

De Montfort University’s (DMU) Institute of Energy & Sustainable Development (IESD) is designing an automated heating control system that it claims will learn householders’ preferences and give immediate feedback on energy consumption. The device can help people save up to 20% energy in their homes.

The device, called a Wattbox, is part of an approach to energy efficient home improvements, which is being partly funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

A previous project found that existing home heating controls such as timers and thermostats often make it difficult for people to cut fuel costs because they are too complicated to set correctly. By designing a appliance that takes the complexity out of the controls, the IESD found that energy use on heating and hot water alone could be reduced by up to14%.

The Wattbox sets its own schedule by learning householders’ habits according to the times they use hot water and switch on electrical appliances. From this, it sets the thermostat to suit individuals’ lifestyle taking into account the outside temperature. It allows people to alter the settings if the automatic decision does not meet their needs and shows how much energy is being consumed as a result of their choice.

Current LCD displays in homes show the total amount of electricity used but this device will also be able to calculate how much energy is being used at a particular time and what choices are available to reduce this, the institute added.

Dr Peter Boait, senior research fellow at IESD, said: ''There is strong evidence to suggest that giving people immediate feedback on their energy consumption does encourage them to make savings and this device offers people a new opportunity to make real cuts without compromising on comfort.

“The system will allow people to save energy without needing to understand the science behind it and could be particularly useful for encouraging people to adopt green technologies, such as heat pumps and solar hot water heating, which are often alienating in their complexity.”

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