March 18, 2013—Telkonet Inc., developer of the EcoSmart energy management platform, recently announced it has made it possible to seamlessly integrate wirelessly with Somfy Systems’ product line of motors for automatically operating a hospitality property’s in-room draperies, blinds and shades, which will benefit hotel managers seeking to reduce energy and lessen fading of hotel room furniture.
Based in Dayton, New Jersey, Somfy Systems is reportedly the world’s largest manufacturer of motors for interior and exterior window coverings. When Somfy’s motor technology is combined with Telkonet’s EcoInsight intelligent thermostats and EcoView occupancy sensors, a hotel owner can use room occupancy information and light-level data from the in-room sensors to close curtains in sunny, unoccupied rooms, thereby reducing the solar load and the need for unnecessary cooling functions, Telkonet says. In addition, managing shade position can also extend the useful life of in-room fabrics and furniture, which reportedly fade as a result of exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
“Heating, cooling and internal lighting represent the three largest expenses for many hotels. Somfy’s bioclimatic façades control sunlight to minimize the costs associated with HVAC runtime and artificial lighting,” said Ana Maria Huertas Iragorri, hospitality business development manager for Somfy North America. “Having the EcoSmart technology intelligently supervise unoccupied rooms certainly enhances our ability to meet energy management objectives.”
Both the Somfy technology and Telkonet’s EcoSmart solution communicate across a ZigBee mesh network to provide real-time motor position status updates and precise control over curtain functions, adds Telkonet. ZigBee is a wireless technology developed as an open global standard to address the unique needs of low-cost, low-power wireless networks.
