Honda test house features Smart Home System for controlling energy usage
The term "smart home" seems to turn up in tech circles every so often, only to fade into the background again without much sign of ultra-connected dwellings becoming a reality. Honda's at least putting one foot forward, with a just-unveiled test house in Saitama, Japan featuring a system for controlling and monitoring energy usage. The Honda Smart Home System (HSHS) consists of thin-film solar cell panels, a rechargeable home battery unit, gas and hot water supply systems and the Smart e Mix Manager. The latter is the central part of the energy-control system, and it keeps track of all the other components in addition to monitoring the home's use of power supplied by the grid. In emergency situations, it can also provide electricity via the home battery unit. On the day-to-day level, however, the system is there to let home owners know what sources of power they can kill. Honda also integrates its Japan-only Internavi system for controlling home appliances remotely. The car maker hopes to use the house for extensive demo testing, with an ultimate goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 50 percent. No word on how many decades till we actually call this sort of place home, though. Click on past the break for a look (in Japanese) at the test home's features.
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Honda unveils demonstration test house that features Honda Smart Home System
April 30, 2012
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today unveiled a house Honda built in the city of Saitama, Japan, for the demonstration testing of the Honda Smart Home System (HSHS). The house features HSHS, which comprehensively controls in-house energy supply and demand, and helps manage both the generation and consumption of energy for the home such as heat and electricity, while utilizing mobility products. HSHS is also designed to enable users to secure their own supply of energy and mobility in a time of disaster.
The HSHS installed in this demonstration test house consists of CIGS thin-film solar cell panels, a home battery unit (rechargeable battery), household gas-engine cogeneration unit and hot-water supply system, and the Smart e Mix Manager. The Smart e Mix Manager, the core of the HSHS, is a comprehensive energy management device which applies optimal control to electricity supplied from the commercial grid and generated by each energy device that composes the system. The Smart e Mix Manager reduces CO2 emissions from the home and, at the same time, provides a backup supply of electricity so that the house can be self-sufficient in the event of a power outage or disaster.
Striving to realize "the joy and freedom of mobility" and "a sustainable society where people can enjoy life," Honda will conduct demonstration testing of the HSHS that is linked with electromotive mobility products such as electric vehicles, and the Internavi system. Through this demonstration testing, Honda will aim to reduce CO2 by 50% (in comparison to year 2000) and verify the future direction of personal mobility. In addition, Honda will verify the backup function for household energy supply, which will provide a sense of security and comfort to the customers.
