Architecture and technology in harmony An energy efficient, healthier living space for the home owners
It is becoming common for property developers, architects and interior designers to enquire about environmental credentials and the energy saving attributes of our home technology products.
Green issues and environmental ideas are increasingly important to the design of modern homes. Flamingbox understands this and focus on making automated systems as energy efficient as possible.
Heating
Intelligent heating systems use sensors to adjust heating levels relative to internal and external temperatures. The temperature can also be controlled remotely and all electrical systems can be monitored and managed from anywhere in the world. The intelligent heating systems can also utilise retained heat and prevent fluctuations caused by competing heating, ventilation and cooling systems. If all the environment systems are synchronised then they can communicate with each other to produce an energy levels that plateau. Localised heating can also help to consume less energy the exact space that needs to be kept warm is heated rather than the whole room.
Lighting
A major contribution in terms of energy saving initiatives is intelligent lighting. Flamingbox specialises in custom lighting design which can cut energy use by astounding levels. Well designed homes can actually save the owner money by intelligently minimising power intake. The methods used to reduce lighting costs include all off buttons to turn all unused systems off at night, dimmer settings and PIRS (Passive Infa-Red Sensors) that can detect movement and shut lighting off when a room is not in use.
The Union of Energy Management Systems
Two of the fastest growing areas in the property market are the ever increasing use of control technology and eco friendly solutions such as renewable energy sources. The two future thinking themes are in a sense both forms of advanced living.
Energy collection and management systems include wind turbines, water source heat pumps, geothermal heat pumps, displacement ventilation systems, earth tubes, sun pipes, photovoltaic solar panels and wind / solar hybrids. Flamingbox were one of the first companies to investigate how to maximize the efficiency of the energy harnessing systems which becomes especially complex when different systems are combined. The programming, wiring and control systems allow the various machines to communicate with each other which results in optimum energy savings and minimum carbon emissions.
Photovoltaic solar panels convert solar radiation into direct current electricity which can be connected to the grid, directly heat water supplies or power ventilation systems. Flamingbox encourage consultations with the client, architects and project managers to resolve exactly what systems best suit the building and the lifestyles of the residents.
Energy Efficient Automation
There is no doubt that technology will further dominate our lives and that we will have to adapt to sustainable living principles, the big question is how can these areas of interest be progressively integrated to find innovative solutions to established problems.
The answer is Flamingbox and the amalgamation of these concepts. By connecting the technologies together to work in unison it is possible to make both work more efficiently. Reducing the amount of energy you use is one of the fastest, most effective ways to save money and it will also help combat climate change.
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
WEEE is the fastest growing waste stream in the UK, growing by at least 5% each year.
We dispose of over 1.2 million tonnes of electrical and electronic waste every year in the UK from the public alone.
Each and every year, this is the equivalent of: 150,000 double decker buses OR 164 Eiffel Towers OR 200,000 African elephants OR 444,444 4x4 vehicles
The amount of electrical waste created by members of the public in the UK would fill the new Wembley Stadium 6 times over every year! The average UK citizen will discard 3.3 tonnes of WEEE in a life time – equal to one double decker bus for each and every family.
2 million TV sets alone are discarded every year. Electronic waste is increasing 3 times faster than average municipal waste and the EU estimates that WEEE currently accounts for 4% of total waste.
Much of the UK’s electronic waste ends up in landfill sites, where toxins put communities at risk. Failure to segregate any type of recyclable material in the home will usually result in items being disposed of in a landfill site (buried in the ground in the UK) or being incinerated.
It has been estimated that landfill space in the UK will run out within the next 10 years. Recycling WEEE will bring significant benefits to our environment.
Where WEEE is not recycled, this waste can have negative impacts on soil, air and water quality which can lead to environmental damage, and have negative impacts on human and animal heath.
Find out how to minimise your effect on the environment by visiting www.recycle-more.co.uk. Locate your nearest recycling facilities for electrical waste with the recycle-more.co.uk bank locator, which includes an easy-to-use interactive mapping system.
