Whether it is for environmental or monetary reasons, many people constantly look for ways to save energy. I am one of those people, and I have implemented many energy saving technologies in my own home. I have automated lighting, a smart thermostat which controls a high efficiency heat pump, and many energy saving appliances. These additions have cut my average monthly electric bill by about 10%. While that might not be a lot of money back in my pocket, big energy users like office buildings and hotels can realize large savings with small efforts.

Problem #1: Leaving lights on in an unoccupied office or meeting room can be a big waste of electricity, and no one remembers to turn them off every time.

Solution #1: Our EnOcean® wireless RIB® products can be paired with an occupancy sensor to control lighting in two different modes.

The first mode, Auto ON, allows the light to be controlled by the sensor alone. When occupancy is detected, the lighting load turns ON and remains ON until 30 minutes after the last motion detection. The other mode, Manual ON-Auto OFF, allows a wireless rocker switch to also be linked to the control device. In this mode, the rocker switch can control the ON/OFF function of the light load, and the occupancy sensor will turn the load OFF 30 minutes after the last motion detection.

Problem #2: Another application that I am receiving more frequent inquiries about is hotel room energy management. The concern is that a guest would unknowingly leave a hotel room window or patio door open while the room is being heated or cooled. This would, at the least, waste energy, and at the worst, potentially damage the HVAC system.

Solution #2: Fortunately, we have a solution using an EnOcean enabled RIB® relay and one or more wireless door/window sensors (WDWS-EN3). When linked with any of our EnOcean® relay devices, the door/window sensor sends a CLOSE command when the window or door is closed and an OPEN command when the window or door is opened.

This application can also utilize an alarm and/or delay mode. The alarm mode allows multiple sensors to be linked to one control device. In this mode, all linked sensors would need to send a CLOSE command for the load to turn ON. The delay mode adds a 10 second delay before the relay will turn ON and a 90 second delay before the relay will turn OFF. The 90 second delay allows door/window sensors to temporarily open and close without affecting the load, and it will prevent the HVAC unit from short cycling.

If you are interesting in learning more about these applications or products, review the Application Manual available on our website, or call or email our technical support team.

About the Author: Henry Smith is a 34-year-old engineer at Functional Devices, Inc. He has a BSEET obtained from Purdue University in 2014 and a lifelong interest in electronics. As an engineer at Functional Devices, he gets to provide Technical Support to our customers, from distributors to specifying engineers and installers.

Henry enjoys providing tech support, as it allows our company to assist at every level of our product’s lifecycle and exposes us to interesting and unique applications. While not every technical question is unique, even answering a simple question or providing someone with the information in a timely manner can go a long way to helping him or her meet a deadline.