NYSERDA supporting R&D on voice-recognition thermostats.

Fuel Oil News, July, 2001

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is working with Enernet Corp. of Dewitt, N.Y., to develop a simplified programmable thermostat that is programmed with voice commands rather than a complex series of buttons. Once programmed, these types of thermostats save energy by automatically adjusting temperatures based on lifestyles. Studies show that only 31 percent of owner-occupied homes with traditional programmable thermostats installed have actually programmed the devices. The number is as low as 13 percent in renter-occupied homes. Although such devices have proven to reduce energy consumption by 10 to 30 percent, the difficulty of programming them is believed to limit their ability to be used most effectively.

Most programmable...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.