How and why to manage the climate in the house

A task with a simple goal and a complex implementation

Controlling the climate in your home is simple, right? Just maintain the humidity, temperature, and air freshness at a consistent level, and that's it? Well, yes, but... no. How do you take into account all the nuances, do it quickly, efficiently, without unnecessary human intervention, and without breaking the bank on energy and gas bills?

What can we control?

In almost every apartment there is an air conditioner that can both lower and raise the temperature in the room. Radiators or underfloor heating can be used for faster heating, which can be either water or electric. Humidifiers or dehumidifiers, depending on the climate, can also be found in apartments, and less frequently - an inconspicuous but effective central forced humidification system.

Nozzle humidification

For ventilation, various types of systems are used, such as a simple valve, a breezer, or a central ventilation system. And let's not forget about the good old window, which can be manually opened for a short period of time.

Pitfalls

Automatic mode

There is no one-size-fits-all mode of operation, but no one wants to constantly click buttons on the remote to change modes. In an attempt to solve this problem, many devices have an automatic mode. The problem is that the sensors on which these devices are based are located directly on the devices themselves. It goes without saying that measuring the temperature or humidity exactly in the point from which the change occurs is not the best idea.

Thermostats

Gas boilers, underfloor heating, and some central systems can be controlled using a thermostat. They already solve the problem of measuring the temperature on the device itself, but create a new one - overshoot. The thermostat does not know anything about the equipment it is working with and turns it on/off only when the temperature has reached the desired value. The problem is that a radiator or underfloor heating will continue to heat the room for some time even after turning off.

Bringing all climate control devices together into a single unified system is aimed primarily at solving this problem. The devices will start communicating with each other, knowing the actual climate readings both inside and outside the home. The system will know for sure whether you are at home or not, so that nothing works unnecessarily.

Is it expensive?

For all of the above, you don't even need to buy a special "smart" equipment

Everything with a remote will be controlled through a smart remote ($120) - and such a remote can control not just one device, but all devices in the room.
Everything with a thermostat is controlled through a thermostat with remote control function ($60).
Anything that can be turned on or off (boilers, fans, humidifiers, etc.) is controlled through a relay ($30).
Instead of installing ventilation, a window drive ($300) can be installed that will automatically control its opening.
To avoid heating the street, a window opening sensor ($20) is installed on each window.
Sensors ($15 each) are installed in each room to obtain accurate temperature and humidity readings.
Information about the temperature outside and solar activity is taken from the forecast, and it doesn't cost anything. The same goes for information about whether anyone is at home or not.

Non-obvious ways to save money

In some situations, humidity or temperature in the house can be significantly changed simply by opening a window or turning on ventilation. The energy consumption of these actions is much lower than that of air conditioners or heating devices.
A specially configured thermostat in the system controls the technology so that it does not exceed the required temperature, thus working less often and consuming less electricity.
The devices will be turned off if the windows are open for more than a few minutes.
If you close the curtains completely or at least partially on a hot day, the air conditioner will not have to work at full power.

Retrofit

Since the equipment itself does not need to be changed, such climate control can be done not only in a new apartment, but also in a ready-made, or even rented one.