Page 4 - Green Builder Magazine Spring 2018 Awards Issue

EDITOR’S NOTE By Matt Power

The Inside Scoop Editor-in-Chief
Caption. Text

When Smart Tech and

Building Science Meet,

Resilience Happens

Bridging high and low technology is

what today’s innovation looks like.

HIS YEAR, WE HAD MORE lamps, dramatically reduce wasted energy hotspot. As other houses nearby rot away
than twice the number of from lighting. with no power access, this home could be
submissions to our annual Don’t get me wrong. I’m skeptical and slowly dehumidifying and recovering.
“Hot ” editors’ choice somewhat suspicious about many of the Expect to hear a lot more ideas like this
products issue. That’s very more-frivolous smart technologies being as Old School and new discover each other.
T encouraging. The building introduced: “stress relieving” wearables, Meanwhile, enjoy our selection of some of
industry has a reputation for being slow devices that constantly listen inside your the best sustainably oriented products on
to innovate. There’s good reason for that, home, and so on. But if you look at tech as the market. GB
of course: Builders have been burned many tools that can partner with existing equip-
times by adopting new products too quickly, ment, some tantalizing possibilities emerge. Intelligent water.
only to ‡nd out that they have major ‰aws. For example, I read about a home saved The Phyn leak
I often make the distinction between an from wildfire by turning on the exterior detector uses an
innovation and an upgrade. Most “new” sprinklers. Why not install heat-detecting algorithm to
products, including the ones in this issue, fall determine where
into the latter category. They take a proven "Smart devices are learning and if any faucet in
concept and make it work more eŠciently, the home is leaking.
last longer or look di‹erent. This is a normal to communicate with
and prudent approach.
One area where innovation is happening, sticks and bricks and
however, is where smart devices are “learn- mechanicals and faucets
ing” to communicate with sticks and bricks
and mechanicals and faucets and sprinkler and sprinkler systems."
systems.
An obvious example is the Phyn system sensors on the property perimeter that
from Uponor. It’s a leak detection device trigger sprinklers automatically to save
that can tell you whether any faucet, toilet homes? How about creating a system to save
or garden hose bib in the home is leaking, homes suddenly ‰ooded and cut o‹ from the
all by applying an algorithm. grid? You could do this by putting together a
That’s an instant water saver. And solar battery backup such as the one Tabuchi
similarly, smart thermostats are rede‡ning Electric o‹ers, with some Jinko panels and
HVAC eŠciency. Motion detectors and smart a Bosch mini-split, and hook it all up to a CREDIT: UPONOR
lighting dimmers, combined with better LED Honeywell smart thermostat and a cellular

2 GREEN BUILDER Special Awards Issue 2018 www.greenbuildermedia.com

2 GB 0418 Editor's Note.indd 2 4/17/18 1:35 PM