Smart Setback for Room Thermostats
Smart Systems International appears to be succeeding where others have failed, in implementing occupancy-based thermostat setback. Applied first in hotel guest rooms, their systems are now seeing increased interest for use in schools and offices. The technology is “smart” enough to overcome the obstacles that have stopped other attempts, i.e. occupant discomfort and impatience, though the solutions they’ve developed may not be immediately evident.
Upon detailed review, the basis of their success begins to emerge–basically, they’ve thought the problems through and solved them. The system automatically relaxes the heating or air conditioning when guests leave, but in controlled so that it can be restored to the desired temperature in a fixed amount of time (adjustable to 5, 11, 18 minutes) when they return.
The best indication of the merits of their claims is in the market acceptance they’re enjoying with some big name hotel chains and others. Conservation is back in the forefront, and this technology could be a good addition to the arsenal of any ESCO, utility, or building owner.
CONTACT:
Ron Davies, President and CEO, or
Tom Kearin, CFO,
Smart Systems International, Las Vegas, NV,
702-734-0044, TomK@smartsystemsintl.com
Website: http://www.smartsystemsintl.com
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The following material is adapted from the company’s website and press releases.
Smart Systems International develops, manufactures and sells patented in-room energy control systems. These products are designed to support three basic requirements: use advanced thermodynamic algorithms to ensure customer comfort is not sacrificed while maximizing energy savings; use state of the art wireless technology to ensure installation takes minutes, not hours; and design for simplicity and low cost. As a result, SSI controls produce energy savings of 20% – 40% per year without compromising customer comfort and deliver pay backs of 12 – 18 months. The system can control through-the-wall units in individual hotel rooms, a central HVAC system with fan coils, heat pumps, or other HVAC equipment.
The company has installed thousands of Smart Systems in hotel rooms across the U.S. from Alaska to Hawaii and the Caribbean including at such marquee brands as Courtyard by Marriott, Crowne Plaza, Embassy Suites, Fairfield by Marriott, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn, Homestead Village, Silverleaf Resorts, Sunterra Resorts and others. In addition to the lodging industry, Smart Systems is selling its energy controls to schools, home builders, energy services companies and electric utilities, and the US Postal Service. Installations include the Clark County School District, Escambia County (Pensacola Florida) Schools, Miami Dade Schools, Post Offices in Las Vegas Nevada, Sitterle Homes, the Trane Company and the Public Service Company of New Mexico.
Smart Systems International recently announced the completion of an $11.0 million equity financing, which they will use to support increased sales activities and to expand distribution channels, staffing, customer field support, and inventory.
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A recent article about the company can be found at:
http://www.thesiliconoasis.com/smart.htm
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Smart Systems International Products
http://smartsystemsintl.com/products.html
Smart Systems 1000
The Smart Systems 1000 is the original “People Sensing Technology” energy management system. It has been installed in thousands of hotel rooms in every conceivable climate from Anchorage, Alaska to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to prove its performance capabilities. Designed for the fancoil and through the wall systems, the 1000 is just as effective on any window air conditioners. Hotel owners appreciate not only the ease of installation and lack of maintenance required, but also, benefit immediately from the drop in peak demand charges, as well as reduction in energy use of 30-50%. There are two basic models: a plug ‘n’ play unit which simply plugs into the nearest outlet, and a hardwired version which is wired with the HVAC unit.
Smart Systems 2000
The Smart Systems 2000 is the “eye” and “ear” of the base stations and an intergral link in SSDN. It uses passive infrared motion detectors to determine occupied and unoccupied states. It has a 25 foot radius and 360 degree detection range when placed on 8 feet ceilings. It communicates wirelessly through encoded transmissions with the base station. It operates on 4 AA batteries which last about 3 years.
Smart Systems 5000
The Smart Systems 5000 is the radical new design from Smart Systems. Unlike its predecessors, it has a user interface and buttons for various functions unavailable on the Smart Systems 1000. This is the full service model which accommodates users’ sleep time requirements and allows for the adjustment of recovery time at any time. The icon system of buttons and large digit LCD have been tested extensively for simplicity, intuitiveness, and ease of use. All of the instructions in this non-programmable unit fit neatly inside the cover. An adapter allows it to control HVAC systems higher than 24 VAC (the standard for home thermostats), making it the ultimate solution for all HVAC systems: residential, commercial, and industrial. The 5000 communicates wirelessly with PC’s.
SSDN®
The Smart Systems energy management system uses a wireless data and command network protocol, the Smart Systems Digital Network (SSDN), to accomplish specific tasks inside and around buildings and premises, including residential, commercial, and industrial properties. The SSDN is being distributed to third party vendors for use in integrating SSDN communications technology in their products. The SSDN is hardware independent and as such can be set up in many ways. The protocol is based upon a set of common integrated chips using standard 8-bit UART technologies. The chip set, protocol and software needed to set up the SSDN are standard and common components and no special proprietary chip sets, microcode, or software are required. Download the SSDN by clicking here.
