The Art of Allen

We as consumers don’t typically consider how much energy we use when we turn our connected devices on and off. Numerous studies have shown electricity use is often overestimated for low-energy consuming appliances and underestimated for high-energy consuming appliances and that consumers in general lack information about how much electricity can be saved through specific strategies. Let’s change this. Today I want to debunk many myths around energy consumption in the home, in an effort to help everyone better understand how much we consume—so we can then use that knowledge to bring down our footprint. First, it might be helpful to look at a few of the big-ticket areas of energy consumption in our homes. Our Energy Consumption by the Numbers More than half of energy use in our homes is for heating and air conditioning, according to the U.S. EIA (Energy Information Admin.). Water heating, lighting, and refrigeration are near-universal and year-round home energy uses. In 2015, these t...

In the effort to find easy ways consumers can have an impact on the environment, the carpenter’s motto, “Measure twice, cut once,” has taken hold. Measuring the benefits of individual changes can point up their value with solid numbers. Naturally, companies are eager to help. And that doesn’t just mean hardware companies; technology companies focused on the soft side of the industry are showing interest in collaboration with the firms that are demonstrating ways to avoid the elements that contribute to climate change, mainly carbon emissions. For example, Acuity Brands  has a goal to avoid  100 million metric tons  of carbon emissions as a result of projected 2020-2030 sales of LED luminaires, lighting controls, and building management systems replacing older technologies in existing buildings.  By combining the power of Microsoft’s Cloud for Sustainability and  Microsoft Azure IoT  with Acuity Brands smart lightin...

With buildings, the concept of “recycling” usually means “tear it down and put something new on the lot.” However, demolition creates  more than 90%  of the waste generated by new building construction, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The debris might be recycled but there are other choices. For example, some see a future in turning dormant office buildings and similar structures into apartments through “adaptive reuse.” One such company is LA-based architecture firm  Omgivning , which specializes in adaptive reuse. Omgivning has been working on adaptive reuse projects in LA and is currently involved in plans to turn the shuttered  Boyle Heights Sears Building into a mixed-use development with more than 1,000 live-work apartments. Converting commercial spaces into housing may not be enough, however, to make a dent in the problem of housing in an area like LA. Still, the city has a leg up on other parts of California when it comes ...

Berg Insight says professionally monitored alarm systems in Europe and North America reached more than 49 million at the end of 2020. The post Fact of the Day – 1/31/2022 appeared first on Connected World . from Connected World https://connectedworld.com/fact-of-the-day-1-31-2022/ via IFTTT

As you prepare to move into your new home, there are some things you can do to make yourself feel more secure. The post 6 Things You Can Do To Make Your Home More Secure appeared first on At Home in the Future . from At Home in the Future https://athomeinthefuture.com/2022/01/6-things-can-make-home-secure/ via IFTTT

As attention gets paid to the climate crisis looming over our future, construction is among the industries often pointed to as having severe problems. Within the construction field, concrete is a major target for limiting or eliminating CO 2 emissions. From research facilities to field operations, work is being done, partnerships are being developed, and new methods and products are resulting. For example, CarbonBuilt  and Master Builders Solutions  are collaborating on the development of admixtures for use with CarbonBuilt’s low-cost, low carbon technology platform. Master Builders Solutions comprehensive portfolio encompasses concrete admixtures, cement additives, chemical solutions for underground construction, waterproofing systems, concrete repair, and protection systems. These admixtures will facilitate the application of CarbonBuilt’s Reversa technology to a wide range of precast concrete products, including pavers, segmented retaining walls, hollow core slabs, pipes...

If your home is more than a few years old, it's likely that the mortar between the bricks has started to deteriorate. The post 4 Reasons to Repoint the Brickwork on Your Home appeared first on At Home in the Future . from At Home in the Future https://athomeinthefuture.com/2022/01/4-reasons-repoint-brickwork-home/ via IFTTT

We sometimes lose sight of the fact that not all plans are reviewed and used in digital form on jobsites. Yes, blueprints still exist and are found on jobsites across the country. In fact, approximately 95% of contractors use drawings or blueprints for daily work. But plans aren’t the only paper still found on the job, and forms, requests, prints, and change orders are critical whether paper or bytes. Until now, there has been no mobile construction-grade tabletop available on the market that can ease the use of blueprints and other paper on the job and could provide a way to display information on paper or on white board for construction crews. That’s changing as a new roll-around workstation offers construction professionals the flexibility they require to not only meet the daily demands of the jobsite but also increase their efficiency. On the back of thousands of pickup trucks and on the ground at construction sites is a storage locker in a familiar brown with an equally familiar...

Soil compactors can be run by operators with varying degrees of experience and training. Journeymen and apprentices alike get in the seat and the results are often quite different. Trimble Construction sees this as an opportunity to showcase its technology. Trimble has introduced Horizontal Steering Control functionality on the Trimble Earthworks Grade Control Platform for Soil Compactors, the industry’s first automatic steering control solution for soil compactors and the next step towards Trimble’s autonomous vehicle vision. Trimble Earthwork’s Horizontal Steering Control automatically steers a soil compactor using a 3D model or compaction pass line. This helps to improve compaction productivity and quality for operators of all skill levels by precisely controlling overlap between passes. Trimble knows it’s difficult to steer a soil compactor with accuracy and consistency, but over- or under-compaction leads to wasted time and materials and less durable surfaces. Horizontal Steer...

Boilers work by transferring heat from combustion to the water. In a traditional boiler, hot flue gas is let into a tube filled with water, using a draft. The post A List Of The World’s Most High Efficiency Boilers appeared first on At Home in the Future . from At Home in the Future https://athomeinthefuture.com/2022/01/list-worlds-high-efficiency-boilers/ via IFTTT

A growing trend, IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology) are more often coming together to improve business efficiencies, employee safety, business agility, and support a hybrid work environment. At its core, IT expertise is needed in order to scale and secure the network, as OT systems are brought onto the corporate network. We are seeing this line beginning to blur in a number of different ways. For one, Gartner suggests roughly 82% of CIOs have responsibility for OT systems, which has increased in the last three years. What’s more, 89% say it will increase in the next three years. Here’s the challenge: While automation, segmentation, and capabilities can proactively resolve issues, the capabilities are widely deployed in the enterprise. Without enterprise-grade network infrastructure features, IT and OT resources can become more strained, putting systems at risk. This is where a new solution enters the equation, aiming at connecting and securing the growing n...

We have reached the point in many industries where we have a new type of worker—one that is very visual, more visual perhaps than previous generations. The question now becomes: How do we train them? We need to give them the right knowledge—information—to get the job done, but we also need them to have the expertise, which is a skill that comes from particular knowledge. Building on one of my previous blogs, where I talk about assisted-reality for frontline workers, with the example of RealWear ’s RealWear Navigator 500, assisted-reality wearables will evolve in the future, and could potentially help train the next generation of workers. Sanjay Jhawar, cofounder and chief strategy officer, RealWear, and I discussed how people who are operational, who are helping their business units go a little faster, are identifying the use cases. “We do see mid-career people, in their early forties, late thirties, that are experienced enough and influential enough in their organizations to make th...

If you’re a modern household and love getting the latest technology when it’s released, you’ve come to the right place. The post High-Tech Gifts For Your Youngest Family Members appeared first on At Home in the Future . from At Home in the Future https://athomeinthefuture.com/2022/01/high-tech-gifts-youngest-family-members/ via IFTTT

I have long been calling for government to invest in our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. Not only that, but we need to do it in a way that is intelligent. We have the technology at our disposal to build infrastructure that is smart, and we need to take the steps to do so. Here are four key things that have impacted the industry in the past several months—and some thoughts on what needs to happen next with our infrastructure. The Need for Repair Last March, the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) released its 2021 Infrastructure Report Card . It had been four years in the making. The good news is for the first time in 20 years, our infrastructure is out of the D range. We have made some incremental progress to restore our nation’s infrastructure and that has resulted in our GPA being a C-. The bad news is a C- still isn’t all that great. Much work still needs to be done. What’s perhaps even more challenging news is while we have made some gains, our long-term investment g...

I have been thinking a lot lately about the smart home of the future, what is driving it, and what in the past has held back widespread adoption. Naturally, cost and lack of integration could easily be cited as two of the biggest hurdles to building the smart home of the future, but some of that is beginning to dissipate. So, then, what’s next? There are three big trends to watch in the home in the months ahead. Let’s explore them now. New Needs in the Home The COVID-19 has changed much in every walk of life, but especially in our homes. According to Lennox , about three-in-five homeowners say they are prioritizing air quality in their home now more than they did a year ago. Roughly 61% of homeowners say they are willing to spend money to improve this. At the same time, many homeowners now need new space for home offices, as the work-from-home trend rages on. The open-concept movement has now been replaced by separate offices, as in some case two parents need to work at home at leas...

The concept of the smart home has been around since the 1950s, at least. Automate everything, control everything, make everything responsive to the owner’s whim. Tell the controller what you want, and it will do your bidding. In fact, the smart speaker is the latest device to shape the future of the intelligent home. Smart speakers offer users easy access to a variety of information and entertainment, as well as home control features, through voice interaction. Artificial intelligence and cloud computing typically lie at the heart of their capabilities. Following the launch of Amazon’s Echo , many other vendors entered the market, including Google, Sonos, Baidu, SK Telecom, Panasonic, and Sony. As these platforms mature and ownership grows, new opportunities for service providers, retailers, installers, builders, and other consumer-facing companies are likely to emerge. On the other hand, the effects of the global component shortage have worked their way into the smart speaker supply...

With the mantra “Go Paperless” ringing loud in the new year, companies are still finding new ways to get rid of unnecessary printed paper. And having more and more applications based in the cloud, those developers need to find ways to help you get rid of the paper. Corecon Technologies, Inc. , a provider of estimating and project management software solutions for general contractors, subcontractors, homebuilders, developers, and engineering firms, is answering the call. They recently announced a new integration with DocuSign eSignature for use within Corecon’s cloud-based construction estimating, project management and job cost software suite. This new feature allows Corecon subscribers to securely obtain and track electronic signatures on construction documents along with other construction project information in one secure location. The process for utilizing the new electronic signature feature is quick and easy. After enabling e-signature in Corecon Settings and authenticating th...

What exactly is solar? How does it connect to the house? How can it help reduce our emissions? Let’s explore all the basics about solar today, to help set everyone—government, homebuilders, homeowners, business owners, and more—up for success in the future. What Is Solar At its core, solar radiation is light that is emitted by the sun. Naturally, this can vary based on location, as the amount of solar that reaches one spot on the Earth is different from another. That solar power can then be converted into thermal or electrical energy. There are two main types of solar energy technologies—PV (photovoltaic) and CSP (concentrating solar-thermal power), according to the U.S. DOE Dept. of Energy . What’s more, the DOE says the amount of sunlight that strikes the earth’s surface in an hour and a half is enough to handle the entire world’s energy consumption for a full year. Solar technologies convert sunlight into electrical energy either through PV panels or through mirrors that concentr...

The headlines have been focused on the 5G telecommunications rollout—and its problems around airports. What has taken a backseat is the transition from 3G to 4G in February, a move that will leave thousands of older devices inoperable. According to Cradlepoint , a company focused on 4G and 5G wireless networking using the cloud and edge computing, all major U.S. cellular carriers are “sunsetting” support for 2G and 3G cellular networks by the end of 2022. Here are some general target dates for each network operator:   AT&T (3G HSPA+ network) — Feb. 22, 2022 Sprint (3G WCDMA network) — Mar. 31, 2022  T-Mobile (3G UMTS network) — July 1, 2022  Verizon (3G EVDO network) — Dec. 31, 2022  In other words, organizations that use 3G for enterprise networking will need to replace and upgrade their wireless edge routers to keep those devices and applica...

Is there something about your house that is making you unhappy? This article will show how to upgrade your house and start feeling good again. The post 6 Amazing Ways To Upgrade Your House And Boost Your Comfort appeared first on At Home in the Future . from At Home in the Future https://athomeinthefuture.com/2022/01/6-amazing-ways-upgrade-house-boost-comfort/ via IFTTT

If you’ve been waking in the middle of the night with an idea for a new bit of technology, it’s time to put your thoughts into practice.  The post What To Do With Your Great Idea For New Technology appeared first on At Home in the Future . from At Home in the Future https://athomeinthefuture.com/2022/01/great-idea-new-technology/ via IFTTT

Not every infrastructure company has been waiting for governments to fund new programs. One, AECOM , has been starting projects, winning bids, and preparing for the future increase in business the carious infrastructure bills will provide. The company is leading the effort to obtain the consents and permits for the Humber Zero project, which will contribute to the decarbonization of critical industry in the Humber region of Northern England, United Kingdom. The Humber Zero project will integrate CCS (carbon capture and storage) technology into units at the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery and VPI Immingham combined heat and power plant. By 2030, the project is expected to capture up to eight million tons of CO 2 (carbon dioxide) annually at source before it is transported via pipeline to permanent storage sites under the North Sea. Carbon capture will integrate specialist technology into the existing processing units and plants, including absorption techniques to capture and recover the...

No, not the old pirate’s saying, a modern adaptation of wood construction, a timber building in Canada (hence the shivering). On Vancouver Island, Structurlam Mass Timber Corp., in partnership with Design Build Services and Aspect Structural Engineers , has completed a five-story mass timber post-and-beam building contains the first buckling-restrained braces housed within a timber frame. The building, Terminus at District 56 , is in one of the highest seismic regions of North America, requiring its lateral system to be highly ductile while allowing the wood to be exposed. The construction is one of two projects from the same partnership in Langford, B.C. Tallwood 1 at District 56, located adjacent to Terminus, is slated to open in early 2022 as the first 12-story mass timber tower built under the revised 2018 BC Building Code, allowing for provisions for mass timber structures up to 12 stories for interested communities. Terminus is a LEED-registered building designed to serve bo...

Bridges often make it into the movies. Some bridges are so familiar, they represent the city where it is located. See the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco comes to mind. See the Brooklyn Bridge and you’ll be transported to New York City. And even when you don’t know the name of the bridge, it can seem familiar. The 6 th Street Viaduct, in Los Angeles, is one of those structures that appears in films and is famous to people who have never been in LA. The 6 th Street Viaduct has long served as a vital connection between the Arts District on the west side of the Los Angeles River and the historic neighborhood of Boyle Heights on the east side. The original bridge, built in 1932, had an overall length of 3,500-ft., and extended east-west across the Los Angeles River, multiple railroad tracks, U.S. 101, and several local streets. It had a 46-foot wide, four-lane roadway with 11-foot eastbound and westbound inside traffic lanes and 12-foot outside lanes with no shoulders. There were ...

According to the World Building Council , the building sector must operate at “net zero carbon” by 2050 if global warming is to remain under two degrees Celsius, the limit enshrined in the Paris Agreement. At least two approaches using HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) technologies are looking good to help. The VRF (variable refrigerant flow), also known as VRV (variable refrigerant volume), is an HVAC technology invented by Daikin Industries, in 1982. VRFs use refrigerant as the cooling and heating medium. This refrigerant is conditioned by one or more condensing units and is circulated within the building to multiple indoor units.  Unlike conventional chiller-based systems, VRV/VRF allows for varying degrees of cooling and in more specific areas may supply hot water in a heat recovery configuration while improving overall building energy efficiency. Also, air handlers and large ducts are eliminated, which can reduce the height ...

House fires can be destructive to property and deadly at their worst, and several are caused by inattention or negligence by residents. The post How to Prevent the Main Fire Hazards In Your Home appeared first on At Home in the Future . from At Home in the Future https://athomeinthefuture.com/2022/01/prevent-main-fire-hazards-home/ via IFTTT

Not every natural disaster comes with a bang. Some, like floods, bring devastation in an almost serene manner. The post How to Prepare Your Home for a Flood appeared first on At Home in the Future . from At Home in the Future https://athomeinthefuture.com/2022/01/prepare-home-flood/ via IFTTT

Voice command is gradually becoming a more prominent way consumers interact with their devices. However, concerns about “big brother” are still ever-present. As companies work to make the use of voice assistants as intuitive, seamless, and secure as possible, the AI (artificial intelligence) technologies behind these solutions will need to evolve to support the next generation of voice-activated use cases. A new study from Hub suggests 83% of consumers ages 16-74 have used voice command to control one or more devices, including smartphones, tablets, smart speakers, and vehicle infotainment systems, among others. For 62% of these consumers, voice commands are a very normal tool in their day-to-day lives, and they use it to interact with one or more of their devices regularly. Microsoft’s latest voice report states “the age of touch as the primary user interface is giving way to a new age of voice and digital assistants.” At the time of Microsoft’s survey , 72% of respondents reporte...