How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Without Sacrificing Luxury
Our Smart Home Solutions Encourage Greater Energy Efficiency
With luxury homes in Houston, TX, and the surrounding areas exceeding 8,000 square feet, it’s easy for them to amass massive carbon footprints. Especially if they stick to traditional set-and-forget-it HVAC and lighting approaches. But beyond environmental concerns, ultra-high energy use is never a good idea with the state’s extreme weather and vulnerable grid.
At Relative Home Systems, we use our technology toolkit to design an eco-conscious environment. We use automations to ensure energy is used only when needed, without sacrificing your family’s comfort or your home’s style.
Smart Climate Control
Relying on an all-or-nothing approach to your HVAC is a huge mistake. You don’t have the same heating and cooling needs throughout your home. Which is why smart zoning with more granular controls is the first step to energy efficiency.
Divide your estate into distinct climate zones and set your preferred temperature for each. So the wine cellar has the temperature and climate just right to protect your collection, and your guest wing remains in eco-conscious mode when you don’t have anyone staying over.
Since zoned-based climate control requires sensors all over the house, we use flush-mounted or hidden models to collect data without creating wall acne with multiple thermostats.
You also don’t have the same heating and cooling needs throughout the year or day. We use predictive cooling techniques, leveraging local weather data to pre-cool during cheaper off-peak hours before the afternoon heat peaks.
Smart Shading
While your floor-to-ceiling windows are beautiful, they also cause significant heat gain. Instead of making your HVAC work overtime, install motorized shades that respond to the sun’s position and reduce solar heat gain by up to 80%. In the winter, they insulate your home and keep warm air from seeping out.
Along the way, they also protect your interior finishes, rare wood flooring, and expensive artwork from UV damage. In a way, it’s its own form of sustainability by enhancing asset longevity. Shades move silently and in unison to not disrupt your decor or lifestyle.
Lighting Control
Though HVAC accounts for the majority of your energy costs, lighting plays a role as well. We help your high-end smart home use only the lighting it needs. First, we use dimmable LED fixtures. Even just dimming by 10% will reduce your energy bill and extend your bulb's life. There are a few times you really need lights at 100%.
More importantly, we make sure that lights are not left on in empty rooms. Occupancy sensors should be added to all transition areas (garages, mudrooms, hallways) and direct lights to turn off when no movement is detected for a set period. We also recommend “Godnight” scenes that turn off all lights at the end of the day.
Want to maintain your luxury lifestyle while reducing your carbon footprint? Our smart home technology solutions can help! Call us or fill out our contact form to learn more about our sustainable installations.
