Wattbox could help homeowners make 20 per cent energy saving in their homes

(05/02/2010)

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 to 14 per cent.

An automated heating control system that learns householders’ preferences and gives immediate feedback on energy consumption is being designed in Leicester: De Montfort University’s (DMU) Institute of Energy & Sustainable Development (IESD) is designing the device which could help people make up to a 20 per cent energy saving in their homes.

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

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 also 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 only show the total amount of electricity used but this new 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.

Dr Peter Boait, Senior Research Fellow at the IESD is involved in designing the device, he said: “This device will hopefully make a real difference in helping people to save energy in their homes. 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.

“Influencing user behaviour can sometimes be challenging but we hope that by involving householders’ in the design and function of the device people will find it very easy to use. 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.”

Related categories:  Energy Conservation   Heat pumps   Heating controls   Residential applications   Solar heating