Roely Rijpkema
When you think about the different devices in our house, they let us feel comfortable. They heat our rooms, give light in the dark, freeze our food to keep it tenable, give hot water for tea etcetera. When you think about sustainability in our house, the devices most of the time do use energy. We can use an extra sweater when it is cold or use candles when it is dark. It is maybe cosy and romantic, but not always comfortable. We have not invented these devices for not using them in the future. But we can use them more smart? How often do we keep the light on when it is not needed? Or the heater is warming all day and night, this is not really needed when we are not at home is it?
Today there are a lot of smart devices who can make our houses smarter. For example the smart thermostat Toon from Eneco. In this device the energy and use is coming together. The thermostat is telling the user besides the general things like temperature and humidity also about the energy you have left, so maybe you need to calm down or you have enough energy to reload your electric car. These devices can put on the heating system just before you get home and in case you forget to switch off the systems, you can do this with your smart phone when you are not at home. The options such devices have in the future are much bigger I think. For example it is measuring the movements of people in the building and knows when it is too cold or too hot. Or when you are showering, it will let you know when it is time to stop. These devices are ways to lower the energy costs, so to be more sustainable and also to save money.
I think in the future we use different smart devices. There are already different examples next to Toon from Eneco, namely HomeKit from Apple and Samsung is also working on such kind of device. Our home can be smarter and more independently. We already know the lawn mower who is mowing the grass independently or lights who go on when you enter a room and off when you leave. Another option can be a fridge who is giving you options for your dinner or a music installation which is playing the music which fits your mood. I think in the future all these devices can work together and I cannot wait to see how this will look like.