Step toward total green living

Smart is at a whole new level for homes

ENN.com, Sierra Club Green Home 

Smart homes have gone to a whole new level with Panasonic's showcase center in Tokyo, Japan. Panasonic's new technologies feature hydroponics, air ventilation, color customization, and energy consumption. 

The energy consumption specifically is integrated into a grid of other smart homes that share excess energy; respond to energy needs, and track community usage trends. The resultant home is a zero-emission smart house combining with nature’s elements.

Hydroponic kitchen counter herb and veggie garden

From one side, it looks like a modern kitchen counter. On the other side, you can feed your family from your own hydroponic garden. Vegetable cultivation conditions are monitored on a 24-hour basis with smartphones or computers fitted with network cameras allowing for growth records to be shared.

Color customization technology for furniture and walls

This groundbreaking innovation from Panasonic uses LED technology to allow you to extract color from one object and impart it in another object instantly. With the use of color extraction tubes, you can change the look of a LED-equipped wall or furniture piece at a whim. This technology is in development, but it is painting of the future.

ECO NAVI ventilation system and air conditioning

This hybrid air-conditioning system uses both natural and mechanical ventilation to maximize air temperature control and energy efficiency. The system detects people’s movements throughout the home to direct air where it is needed most.

The Wind Passage Tower can measure the differences in temperature between indoor and outdoor air to bring in cooler ground air in the summer and warmer air in the winter through an underground duct.
Sensors detect wastage energy waste and it works with the floor heating system.

Smart Home Energy Management System (SMARTHEMS)

Panasonic's Smart Home Energy Management System (SMARTHEMS) links all appliances and energy supplies into one central network. The program, which can be accessed by a TV or smart device, visualizes the energy, gas, and water consumption throughout the home. It acts as a personal energy consultant, displaying the progress made towards energy-saving targets and providing advice to support energy-saving activities.

The smart home can be located in a community with other smart homes to link the system to the larger Community Energy Management System (CEMS), as seen in the Fujisawa Smart Town in Japan. With CEMS, residents can share excess energy, respond to energy needs, and track community usage trends in an effort towards electricity conservation.

Read more at ENN affiliate Sierra Club Green Home.


ECO NAVI ventilation system image via Panasonic.