http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
Mar 9th 2009 at 1:16PM - Skynet gains control of or lights. We MUST continue to resist!]]>Mar 9th 2009 2:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/-Taylor]]>Mar 9th 2009 3:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
[ ] Change car oil.
[ ] Change car brakes.
[ ] Change brakes on light switches.]]>Mar 9th 2009 7:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 9:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
Dear smug inventors: Stop inventing these stupid gadgets that increase our footprint and just keep the (*@&#ing lights off! I don't care HOW neat or green you think these lesson-teaching things are, they'll never be as effective as the smack upside the head my mother use to give me.]]>Mar 9th 2009 10:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/02/tweet-a-watt-crowned-winner-of-greener-gadgets-2009-design-compe/]]>Mar 9th 2009 10:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 10:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/"no dave, i cannot permit that"]]>Mar 9th 2009 1:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/]]>Mar 9th 2009 1:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 7:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
Except for the part where they hate you, this is a perfect solution.]]>Mar 9th 2009 8:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
In my opinion, any product that wants to be viable needs to recoup its extra front end costs quickly and that savings needs to be tangiable. Not having to replace lightbulbs in the past 5 years because I use CFLs, that's a good example.

But, then again, marketing to people with more money then sense.. that's a great business model... "Sweet! I can pay more, get less and feel all good about it!! Sign me up."]]>Mar 9th 2009 2:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
Let's take your CFLs as an example. Here's a bit about their history:

http://inventors.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://americanhistory.si.edu/lighting/20thcent/invent20.htm%23in4

From the article:

"This was a major reason why the initial price of these lamps was rather high (about $15 in the early 1980s–which would be about $30 now). Large orders from governments and electric utilities, who then offered the lamps to customers at sharply reduced prices, gave producers an incentive to make the needed investments. "

Lucky for you those electric utilities and the government had 'more money than sense' so you could eventually justify the purchase of your CFLs, eh? :)

The development of a given energy-efficient technology isn't always something the free market can solve, as a lot of these things take years and years of research and development. By the time alternatives become competitive with traditional sources, it may be too late.]]>Mar 9th 2009 3:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 3:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
It's a similar idea with the light switch. If every single house in Europe or America was fitted with one of these - to the point where the manufacturing process became very efficient (ie they were producing them by the million cheaply) then they would easily surpass the emissions used to produce them. As they stand, they're a niche way of cutting down your electricity bill by a small amount and are probably not that effective. Sadly a lot of "eco" and similar ideas

In the VAST majority of cases, the problem isn't people turning lights on, it's forgetting to turn them off. All you need is a motion sensor in the middle of the ceiling that will automatically turn the lights off after 10-15 minutes. The light switch would need to be non-latching - so it springs back out once you've completed the circuit.]]>Mar 9th 2009 3:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 5:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 5:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
I for one,]]>Mar 9th 2009 1:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/_>]]>Mar 9th 2009 1:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/ switch has fulfilled his purpose and the environment gets a little less polluted. Win-win.
]]>Mar 9th 2009 7:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
Seriously, this is just an example of extremely annoying technology.]]>Mar 9th 2009 1:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
It was so bad that over time I ended up only buying the bare necessities - I would begin to reach for some junk food or some other item I didn't really need and I would find myself pulling back for fear of a shock. To this day, even though I shop at a different grocery and those sandals are long gone, I still find myself on occasion being reluctant to reach for an item on the shelf.

I think something like this is an awesome idea, but it needs to track the energy used by your house over the month and start delivering small shocks when you reach a certain threshold. I would for damned sure start learning to find my shoes in the dark, and if I got shocked often enough I would start conserving energy so I didn't spend the last few days of each month shocking myself just for turning on the lights :P ]]>Mar 9th 2009 1:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
Actually I don't want to live in darkness every time the clothes dryer or the A/C is on]]>Mar 9th 2009 6:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 8:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 1:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 2:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
I remember having an hours long debate in design class over the simple light switch. Me vs everyone else who said the light switch is an archaic piece of technology that will be replaced by intelligent light sensors and electronic control pads.

I said the light switch will stay for many years because you don't have to think about it. When you are forced to think about what you want to do and what you want to control the entire process slows down.

With automaitc light sensors the light will always turn on when you enter and turn off when you leave. What if you do not want the light to turn on. What if you are going to sit in a chair and watch TV with the light on. An auto sensor will turn the light off, you then will have to move to get the light to turn back on.

This is simply a fix for a problem that never needs to be solved. A product with no practical use that will be applauded for the idea that it can save energy even though it never will.]]>Mar 9th 2009 1:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 2:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
Another example are these big rocker switches common in a lot of houses nowadays. I thought these were stupid originally; I thought they looked like those big-button phones for old people. But it is really much easier to just slap a general area of your wall than to fumble around looking for a little switch, especially in the dark when you're doing everything by feel.

So there are improvements being made and further improvements that could be made. Remote switches are still not very common but I expect they will be in the future as costs come down and installation issues are dealt with. X10 is a great system if you can figure out how to set it up, but most people can't. Eventually, though, either it or something better/easier will be pretty standard. It's funny how nobody would even think of bothering to get up to turn the TV on or off anymore, but they'll happily do so to do the same to a light.

I think remote switches would do a lot more to save energy than this variable resistance switch. The reason why people waste energy is that they think it's too much of a pain in the ass to get up to turn off that kitchen light they left on when they went and sat on the couch. Put the light on a remote control with a button that just says "kitchen", and they'll turn it off from the couch.
]]>Mar 9th 2009 2:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/
A simple camera in the ceiling that can detect color. If the thing in motion is a little too pink (adjustable hue control on wall panel) then its nude and probably doesn't want the lights on. Unless the camera can't tell.

So, add an interactive voice prompt. "Would you like me to turn the lights on now?" Plus a training cycle so it understands your speech, initiated via touch screen wall panel.

Plus an atomic synchronized clock on the wall, and customizable settings--don't turn on the lights in the middle of the night say, or only on low levels.

I'm sure with enough power and resource consumption, we can get this thing worked out just right!]]>Mar 9th 2009 9:04PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/...]]>Mar 9th 2009 1:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 2:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 2:07PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 2:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 3:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 2:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/09/smartswitch-prototype-makes-work-out-of-the-simplest-of-things/Mar 9th 2009 2:54PM