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Lower Energy Costs and Increase the Value of Your Home by Making it More Energy Efficient
A recent article on ECNmag.com, “Building Value with Energy-Saving Upgrades in Homes and Businesses,” discusses how “improving the energy performance of your home can make it more comfortable and attractive, increase its value, and help you save money on your energy bills.
Easy Being Green: Get Out of Your Hybrid Car and Into Your Green Home
Did you know that the average family spends around $1,900 a year on home utility bills? And, a lot of that energy is wasted through inefficiencies in your home, which is both bad for you and the environment. Of course, there are little things we can do like keeping the heat on a lower temperature and putting on a sweater, installing LED light bulbs, and installing low-flush toilets. But if you’re looking to further green your life, there are some more significant improvements that you can make to your home overall that can help reduce your energy consumption, decrease your energy bills, and even increase the value of your home.
Afraid of Vampires? You Should Be. Energy Draining Appliances Could be Costing You a Fortune
Which electronic appliance do you think uses the most energy in your home? The air conditioner? The refrigerator? Guess again. It’s your cable or satellite DVR set-top box, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report, “Reducing the National Energy Consumption of Set-Top Boxes.” Hard to imagine, but it’s true. This is because today’s cable boxes are basically running at full power all the time, even when switched off, which is costing you money.
Vampires No More? NCTA Moves to Make Cable Boxes More Energy Efficient
The NCTA and CableLabs are forming an Energy Lab facility, which will concentrate on improving energy efficiency and promote the development, testing, and deployment of technologies that will enable users to reduce and manage energy consumption in the home. They will work on manufacturing set-top devices that have sleep capabilities that will reduce power consumption when subscribers are not watching television.
Home lighting control solutions are quickly becoming one of the most popular home improvements. One of the main benefits of home lighting control is the potential energy savings. According to the a white paper produced by the Energy Conservation Enhancement Project at Louisiana State University, “20% of all electricity produced in the U.S. is used for lighting, but 50% of that is wasted by inefficient lighting sources or careless consumers.” And, they recommend that home lighting controls should now be part of every family’s home energy plan.
Certified Connection is the premier provider of custom-designed home control systems and home theaters to residential and commercial customers. For more than 10 years, Certified Connection has served homeowners and businesses in and around Boston, throughout the South Shore, and the entire Cape.
If you thought Blu-Ray was the last color you’d be hearing about with regard to your home entertainment, think again. The newest and most exciting color stands ready to change everything: Sony’s UltraViolet.
UltraViolet arrived on the market recently without a whole lot of fanfare. For some time, announcements of new Sony Pictures movies or television shows were accompanied by “Available on Blu-Ray or DVD.” To aid in the still-stubborn transition to Blu-Ray, the two types of disc were packaged together, leading to “Available in a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack.” And then, with little explanation: “Available in Blu-Ray/DVD/UltraViolet combo pack.”
So what’s the story with UltraViolet?
In essence, when you purchase a Sony Blu-Ray or DVD of a title, you’re given an UltraViolet redemption code. When you log in to your UltraViolet account and redeem the code, the title is added to your Digital Library. Since UltraViolet is cloud-based, once you have a title in your Digital Library, you can instantly stream it to computers, tablets, or smart phones, or download it to your PC or Mac. You can also share your collection with up to six family members.
With the proliferation of portable devices and the growing preference of some to watch shows and movies on their computers, the appeal of UltraViolet is clear. But will the technology catch on? Will other companies besides Sony develop their own UltraViolet? Only time will tell.
Are you interested in learning more about UltraViolet? Contact Certified Connection to learn more!
Certified Connection is the premier provider of custom-designed home control systems and home theaters to residential and commercial customers. For more than 10 years, Certified Connection has served homeowners and businesses in and around Boston, throughout the South Shore, and the entire Cape.
Which electronic appliance do you think uses the most energy in your home? The air conditioner? The refrigerator? Guess again. It’s your cable or satellite DVR set-top box, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report, “Reducing the National Energy Consumption of Set-Top Boxes.” Hard to imagine, but it’s true. This is because today’s cable boxes are basically running at full power all the time, even when switched off.
Vampire Electronics Are Costly for U.S. Households
Approximately 80 % of U.S. homes have set-top boxes, and in 2010, they consumed approximately 27 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity or the annual output of nine average coal-fired power plants. To think of it in another way, it’s equal to the annual household electricity consumption of the state of Maryland. The report estimates it costs households more than $3 billion each year to operate these devices.
What’s the Solution?
Unfortunately, these devices are a necessary evil in today’s world of entertainment technology. And right now, there isn’t a real solution to combat these silent energy suckers.
The report proposes that cable, satellite, etc. companies provide energy-efficient boxes that operate in low-power mode when switched off or comply with ENERGY STAR version 4.0 requirements, but this will only happen if consumers or the government demand it. And, this will take time.
What You Can Do
When you leave the house for long periods of time, like for vacation, disconnect your set-top box. This is also true for many other common household appliances, including your TVs, stereos, computers, monitors, and even your phone chargers – they are silently sucking electricity even when they’re not in use. Over time, this can significantly increase your electric bill. So, whenever possible, disconnect the devices you’re not using so that you don’t incur vampire electricity charges.
Certified Connection is the premier provider of custom-designed to residential and commercial customers. For more than 10 years, Certified Connection has served homeowners and businesses in and around Boston, throughout the South Shore, and the entire Cape.
Additional Reading
Easy Being Green: Get Out of Your Hybrid Car and Into Your Green Home
Keeping Your Home Secure When You’re on Vacation
Learn More Information RequestIT Services: Better Performance and Increased Reliability
- We are there when you need it.
We can dramatically improve your computer’s performance, make them faster, with more storage for data storage. - PC OR MAC
Whether your computer needs hardware, software, or memory installed, we can take care of it for you.
Certified Connection can act as your IT department – at home and in the office.
Information RequestNetworking: Connecting Your Personal Life and Business Life
- Share a high-speed Internet connection
All of your computers and mobile devices can access the Internet simultaneously through a single Internet connection. The entire family can use a single line to access the web at record speeds! - Share printers, files, and more
Everyone on the network can use the same printer, scanner, external drives, etc. You can move files on your network from one computer to another. - Play multi-player games
Go head-to-head with another family member and play any multi-player game on your PC or game system.
Certified Connection can wire, install, and set up a complete, easy-to-use computer network for your home. We can even design part of the system to be wireless so you can take your laptop anywhere on your property. We’ll also provide training and support whenever you need it.
Information RequestSmart Wiring: Integrating Your Technology
- Experienced professionals
Certified Connection’s staff of technical professionals will design and install a smart home wiring system to meet your needs for integrated systems. - Smart integration
We can wire your home to allow seamless integration of audio, video, voice, and data networking throughout your home. - Watch or listen to anything, anywhere
Enjoy music in every room of the home – or even in the yard. See who is at the front door from any TV! These are just some of the options that we offer for smart home living.
Certified Connection can bring you into the 21st century! Smart home or structured wiring is specifically designed to integrate home networking, telecommunications, audio/video, and home automation into a complete home system solution. We can anticipate the installation of future technologically advanced components.
Information RequestHome Automation: Simplifying Your Life
- Whole house audio and video
Select from a variety of music sources (such as CDs, radio, satellite music, etc.) and adjust the volume, switch channels, or change discs from any room. - Home theater
Create the full cinema experience with a single touch of a button, automating audio, video, projector, screen, lighting, and drapes. - Home environment
Monitor surveillance cameras and motion detectors, check for open windows or ajar doors, and arm or disarm your security system zone by zone.
Your home technology should be easy and simple to use. But how do you tie together the dozens of components and systems scattered throughout your house to make them work the way you want? Automation systems from Certified Connection can do all of this and more.
Information RequestHome Theaters: Maximizing Your Experience
- Movies can take you away!
Now you can enjoy a true theater experience from the comfort and convenience of your own home. - Customize your home theater
Certified Connection works with the needs and budgets of each client to deliver a customized experience – from dedicated theaters to simple but effective home entertainment systems. - Maximize your experience
Home theater can mean many things to different people. From a dedicated room with a 10-foot screen, projection system, and theater seating to a family room with a wide-screen TV and surround sound system, Certified Connection will maximize your theater experience.
Certified Connection will carefully hand-select and install all of the components for your home theater. A well-designed home cinema will rival or even beat the local movie theater experience, with outstanding picture and high-quality video and surround sound.
Information RequestAudio/Video Distribution: Music and Movies Anywhere
- Music anywhere – from a single source
Walk into a room, touch a button on a wall-mounted keypad or touch screen, and select your music from a variety of sources. - Simple and convenient control from any room
It’s as easy as turning on a light switch. You can hear what you want without bothering anyone else. - Simple and elegant solutions Installing speakers throughout your home and yard allows you to maximize your listening enjoyment wherever you happen to be.
Music sets the mood no matter where you’re working or playing – whether you’re entertaining in the evening or just relaxing by yourself on a Sunday morning. Let Certified Connection bring multi-room music into your home.
Information RequestLighting Systems: Making Life Brighter and Greener
- Vacation mode
When vacation mode is activated, the system plays back the actual activities of the family, providing a realistic appearance of activity when no one is home. - Telephone interface
An optional telephone interface allows the homeowner to access and control numerous functions or events from any touch-tone phone. - Astronomic time clock
The lighting control system contains an astronomic time clock that tracks the seasons for your home’s longitude and latitude. Program the lights to automatically come on 30 minutes after sundown and/or lower your shades at noon.
A whole home lighting control system eliminates the need to go from room to room to light your home – allowing complete control of your lighting and entertainment from a simple, easy-to-use keypad located anywhere you select.
Information RequestPhone Systems: Doing More with Your Phone
- Complete home intercom system
Imagine being able to tell your kids in the playroom upstairs that dinner is ready – from your phone in the kitchen downstairs! - Check on the baby
Your phone system can be configured to function as a baby monitor, allowing you to monitor your child’s room while you are otherwise occupied. - Answer the door from any phone
When a visitor presses the doorbell at the front door, the phone rings in your home with a distinctive ring. Pick up the phone anywhere in the house to talk with the person at the door.
Certified Connection can wire and install an advanced phone system for your home. The system’s capabilities will add convenience and a wide range of functions that you may never have thought possible.
Information RequestFive Great Posts on Energy Efficient Home Technologies
03/06/2012 | Leave a Comment
Lower Energy Costs and Increase the Value of Your Home by Making it More Energy Efficient A recent article on ECNmag.com, “Building Value with Energy-Saving Upgrades in Homes and Businesses,” discusses how “improving the energy performance of your home can make it more comfortable and attractive, increase its value, and help you save money on [...]
UltraViolet: The Next Step in Expanded Home Entertainment
02/16/2012 | Leave a Comment
If you thought Blu-Ray was the last color you’d be hearing about with regard to your home entertainment, think again. The newest and most exciting color stands ready to change everything: Sony’s UltraViolet. UltraViolet arrived on the market recently without a whole lot of fanfare. For some time, announcements of new Sony Pictures movies or [...]
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