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Toys Article - October 2000 - [HTI Home Page] |
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HOMEOWNERS AND TENANTS: Monitor efficiency via the Power Manager, an electronic “black box ” installed either in the loadcenter or nearby. It collects information from sensors concerning power consumption and signals you when whole-house voltage is out of line, enabling you to correct the cause and lower your electric bill. |
Cutler-Hammer ’s Advanced Power System (APS) ends every homeowner’s and tenant’s quest for the highest possible levels of safety, comfort, economy and just plain enjoyment in and around the home. Here ’s a quick look at how it works. After programming the Energy Control Center keypad – it ’s as simple as using your TV remote – you press one button and your lights, furnace, air conditioner, appliances and other electrical equipment do what they ’re told. Refer to Scenes A through D for examples, but don ’t be limited by them. You can program the APS to do just about whatever you want it to do – the options are limited only by your imagination.
Here, in greater detail, is how the APS works for you. These numbers are keyed to the diagram below.
- Your instructions to the APS are communicated over the existing house wiring (additional wiring isn’t needed) by pressing one button on the keypad, which you have already programmed.
- “Lifestyle Scenes ” are programmed into
the keypad to fit the way you live. By pressing one button, you can control
lighting, temperature, appliances and other devices to create the situation
or ambiance that fits your mood and activities at the time. Here are some
examples:
SCENE A. Push “Security ” and Feel Safer In and Around Your Home
Example: You ’re driving home late at night and want to enter a safe, well-lighted home and enjoy a cup of coffee. You call the keypad on your cell phone, and, by punching in a few numbers, instruct the APS to set the “Arrival ” Lifestyle Scene. Selected lights …both indoor and outdoor …are turned on and the coffee starts to brew.
Example: You ’re home alone and hear a strange noise. You press one button on a portable remote controller that “talks ” to the keypad and all (or some) of the indoor and outdoor lights come on, and the security system can alert police.
Example: You ’ve been delayed and will be home after your children have arrived home from school. You call the keypad from any touch-tone telephone and “lock- out ” any appliance that you don ’t want them to use, for example the stove or the TV.
Example: You ’re planning to be away for a week or longer. You press “Vacation ” on your keypad. Indoor and outdoor lights turn on and off, just as they would if you were home, discouraging intruders. The security system is armed, and appliances, garage door openers, pool pumps, heaters and other devices you choose are turned off at the loadcenter breaker box to prevent them from being turned on from outside the home. Your home is more secure and your electric bill is more palatable. Then, as you ’re driving home, instruct the APS by phone to return to the “At- Home ” Scene. Temperatures will automatically return to your comfort levels, lights will turn on if appropriate, and the garage door opener and other motors will operate normally.
Example: A breaker trips several times for no apparent reason. The APS can identify the location of the trip, and you can repair or replace the wiring or appliance as needed.
SCENE B. Push “Energy Conservation ” and Lower Your Electric Bill
Example: Using your keypad, turn off the water heater between midnight and 6:00 a.m.– one of 64 automatic on//offs that you can schedule for various times of the day. Or schedule your washer, dryer or dishwasher to start at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., when electric rates are lowest.
Example: You check the power sensors on each branch circuit for excessive consumption that could indicate a malfunctioning appliance, then repair or replace as needed. When you instruct it, the APS will compare the operating costs of your current appliances to new appliances, enabling you to make “repair or buy ” decisions with greater confidence.
Example: You ’re leaving for a four-day business trip. Press the “Away ” Scene, and the thermostat adjusts to the most efficient temperature for that time of year, lights will turn on and off, just as if you were home, and your water heater and other appliances will turn off until you tell them to return to the “At-Home ” Scene..
SCENE C. Push “Intercom ” and Communicate With Others Inside and Outside Your Home
Example: You ’re soaking in the tub and the front doorbell rings. You press *9 on your telephone and talk to whomever is there, and he or she can talk to you.
SCENE D. Push “Entertainment ” and Get More Out of Life
Example: Dinner guests are due to arrive. You set the scene by pressing “Party ” on your keypad. Lights dim in the dining room, the stereo starts to softly play the CDs or any other source of music you select, and the temperature is lowered slightly to compensate for the greater number of people in the home.
Example: You ’re enjoying a movie on TV and will retire later than usual. Press “Bedtime ” on your keypad or PC, enter a new time, and lighting and temperatures will adjust. - Monitor efficiency via the Power Manager, an electronic “black box ” installed either in the loadcenter or nearby. It collects information from sensors concerning power consumption and signals you when whole-house voltage is out of line, enabling you to correct the cause and lower your electric bill. The Power Manager also controls your power circuit breakers, turning them on and off as directed by the “Lifestyle Scene ” you select, and, if a breaker trips, will identify the offending circuit and alert you …another safety feature.
- The loadcenter is in every home, and it ’s a key to the safety and protection of people and possessions. In it are circuit breakers of various types that protect your entire home against fire; your electrical/ electronic/communications equipment against electrical disturbances, like short circuits, that could destroy them; and you, your family and guests against electrical shocks.
- A power sensor, a small electronic meter, (see 5a in illustration) on the incoming power line, measures all electricity consumed in the home; smaller branch sensors (5b)are installed on all or select- ed branch circuits to measure electricity consumption in specific areas, or by specific devices. Use 5a to check your power provider ’s figures and bills, negotiate lower rates and monitor your home ’s total efficiency. Use the branch sensors to uncover unusually high consumption by, say, your air conditioner; it can often indicate the need for repair or replacement. Consumption figures are displayed on the Energy Control Center.
- The Cutler-Hammer Surge Protector (CHSP) is generally installed in the load- center. It protects the incoming electrical, coaxial (TV) and telephone lines, and all your electrical/electronic/communications equipment from electrical disturbances before they enter the loadcenter. The CHSP is an added level of protection – your first line of defense. Your second line, if you choose, is surge strips at points of use.
Install It All or Grow as You Go
The APS is very affordable. It utilizes the loadcenter and wiring that must be installed in every home, so the added costs of the complete system are limited to the Power Manager, keypad, breakers, CHSP and sensors.
You can install everything at once, or you can install them piecemeal, as your budget allows. For example, you might install your APS in this sequence:
- The loadcenter enclosure.
- Breakers.
- CHSP and a sensor on incoming lines.
- The Cutler-Hammer Smart Convenience •Pak, a
group of five coordinated components available as a single unit. The
components are:
- Energy Control Center keypad with LCD display and power supply.
- Power Manager.
- Power circuit interrupters for direct control of loads such as heaters, pumps and lighting.
- Power sensors on the incoming and selected branch lines.
- Smart switches to control lights, outlets, fans, motors and appliances.
Additional light switches, remote-controlled breakers or power sensors can enable additional “Lifestyle Scenes ” to be created.
For the Technology Buff: Possibilities Galore
All the electrical/electronic/communications equipment can be on what engineers call a “time trigger,” which is nothing more than a fancy way to say that the equipment adjusts (turns on or off, operates at a higher or lower level, etc.) at a certain time the home-owner or tenant specifies.
“Manual-trigger ” is possible. It means that you can override (cancel) the time-trigger and instruct all equipment or one device to operate at a time that’s different than the time that has been programmed.
Think of the APS as an alarm clock. You can set it and forget it, and the alarm will sound as scheduled. Or you can decide in the middle of the night to “manually override ” the alarm, reset it and sleep an extra hour or two. The APS allows this kind of flexibility with more than 64 functions.
