The Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) has developed a power conservation system that controls lighting and electric equipment in households by simply rotating a knob fitted to the system, which is called Setsuden Volume. Users can set the upper limit of their household power consumption by turning the knob to the left or right. When a user’s household electricity usage exceeds a preset limit, the system controls individual electric equipment in the household according to the order of priority set by the user in advance. For example, the system turns off lighting first, followed by a TV screen, and then changes the temperature setting of an air-conditioning unit.
Conventional power conservation systems required users to check their electricity usage status displayed on a panel and manually switch off individual equipment or change temperature settings. The new Setsuden Volume combines the display and control functions together on its panel.
The system can also display the operation screen on a smart phone, tablet or other terminals connected to the Internet, and allows users to control electric equipment in their home from such terminals.
Fujio Tsutsumi, CRIEPI’s senior researcher who took charge of developing the system, said, “By using a smart phone, users can operate their household electric equipment even in their bed before going to sleep or when they are away from home. A major advantage of the system is that it allows users to save energy anytime, anywhere, whenever they wish to.”
The institute aims to put the system to practical use through a three-year plan starting fiscal 2012.
