Nokia launches Home Control centre

It is the stuff of science fiction: house lights, ovens, televisions and even security systems that can all be remotely operated and controlled at the touch of a button.

But now a new type of smart technology from mobile phone maker Nokia looks set to turn that fantasy into a reality.

The Home Control Center, which will go on sale at the end of next year, will mean British consumers are one step closer to living in "networked homes", where everyday systems and devices are connected to the internet, allowing the home owner to monitor and activate them remotely using their mobile phone.

Nokia's platform will run the open-source Linux operating system, meaning that third-party manufacturers that make fridges and televisions, will be able to build compatible technology into their devices at minimal cost. The Home Control Center will enable other smart-home solutions to be connected together, and provide users with a single, consistent way of controlling all their gadgets.

The system will initially be used to help people control heating in their home. Nokia has signed an agreement with energy company RWE to work on building compatible systems that can be operated remotely by mobile phone or through a computer.

In future, however, it's likely that many more systems will be able to connect up to the Home Control Center, giving users the chance to measure their electricity usage, preheat an oven before they arrive home, and adjust the temperature of their house.

While Nokia acknowledges that so-called "smart home" technology has been available for years, it argues that the biggest barrier to mainstream adoption is pulling all of the systems together.

"Building blocks for an intelligent house are readily available in the market. Putting it all together is, however, like trying to build a house from blocks that do not fit with each other," said the company. "There are smart refrigerators, energy-saving washing machines, heating systems that can adjust the room temperature with one-celcius-accuracy, security systems with touchpanels, low-energy walls, programmable thermostats, self-adjusting curtains, configurable set-top boxes, self-operating yard lights and much more.

"The problem is all these systems are separate and you end up having a dozen remote controllers and miles of cables in the living room.

"Nokia’s aim is to integrate state-of-the-art solutions from each area to the framework so that the systems can be controlled via mobile device. This provides the systems with remote access via the same user interface regardless if you use a mobile phone, web browser or an internet tablet, also enabling the different home systems to talk to each other."

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The 10 big energy myths

Myth 1: solar power is too expensive to be of much use

In reality, today's bulky and expensive solar panels capture only 10% or so of the sun's energy, but rapid innovation in the US means that the next generation of panels will be much thinner, capture far more of the energy in the sun's light and cost a fraction of what they do today. They may not even be made of silicon. First Solar, the largest manufacturer of thin panels, claims that its products will generate electricity in sunny countries as cheaply as large power stations by 2012.

Other companies are investigating even more efficient ways of capturing the sun's energy, for example the use of long parabolic mirrors to focus light on to a thin tube carrying a liquid, which gets hot enough to drive a steam turbine and generate electricity. Spanish and German companies are installing large-scale solar power plants of this type in North Africa, Spain and the south-west of America; on hot summer afternoons in California, solar power stations are probably already financially competitive with coal. Europe, meanwhile, could get most of its electricity from plants in the Sahara desert. We would need new long-distance power transmission but the technology for providing this is advancing fast, and the countries of North Africa would get a valuable new source of income.

Myth 2: wind power is too unreliable

Actually, during some periods earlier this year the wind provided almost 40% of Spanish power. Parts of northern Germany generate more electricity from wind than they actually need. Northern Scotland, blessed with some of the best wind speeds in Europe, could easily generate 10% or even 15% of the UK's electricity needs at a cost that would comfortably match today's fossil fuel prices.

The intermittency of wind power does mean that we would need to run our electricity grids in a very different way. To provide the most reliable electricity, Europe needs to build better connections between regions and countries; those generating a surplus of wind energy should be able to export it easily to places where the air is still. The UK must invest in transmission cables, probably offshore, that bring Scottish wind-generated electricity to the power-hungry south-east and then continue on to Holland and France. The electricity distribution system must be Europe-wide if we are to get the maximum security of supply.

We will also need to invest in energy storage. At the moment we do this by
pumping water uphill at times of surplus and letting it flow back down the mountain when power is scarce. Other countries are talking of developing "smart grids" that provide users with incentives to consume less electricity when wind speeds are low. Wind power is financially viable today in many countries, and it will become cheaper as turbines continue to grow in size, and manufacturers drive down costs. Some projections see more than 30% of the world's electricity eventually coming from the wind. Turbine manufacture and installation are also set to become major sources of employment, with one trade body predicting that the sector will generate 2m jobs worldwide by 2020.

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Retro-green your house

Later this year, the Government is launching a consultation document, to see how our country's historic period homes can be made more energy-efficient – but many home owners are starting to act now.

Pioneers like Michael are testing new methods of energy saving, and, like all pioneers, there have been some disasters along the way. "Rosewood has solid walls, so I couldn't put in cavity insulation," says Michael, a financial markets consultant. "But with small room sizes, I didn't want to lose any space with internal insulation."

Michael decided to render the exterior walls, adding an inch of lime-rich mortar. "The quantities of lime need to be exactly right, otherwise it just falls away from the wall – which it did, several times." The extra thickness now acts as a thermal barrier, keeping warmth in during the winter and heat out in summer.

The old floorboards, like those pictured above, were lifted and a layer of polystyrene and concrete laid beneath them – with added vents to make sure the old oak can still breathe. Michael also added a new type of breathable insulation to the roof slats, and installed wind-operated ventilation to help air circulate in the extra-sealed space.

With a pole-mounted wind turbine, solar panels and solar hot water, the house generates more energy than it uses. "My major expense was the wind turbine and solar panels," says Michael. "The insulation itself only cost about £2,000."

It is possible to retro-fit even further. In a pilot project in south east London, a 1930s terrace has been transformed into a super-efficient home, scoring an A on the energy performance certificate ratings – which even new homes struggle to achieve. Its heating requirements have plummeted by 80 per cent – from 223 kW/h per sq metre per year to just 32 kW/h per sq metre – thanks to new insulation for the cavity, internal and external walls, space-age insulating materials in the roof and
low-energy LED lighting.

The project is the brainchild of the Hyde Group, an affordable housing provider. It uses the latest eco technology, including the world's first breathable foil insulation under the rafters, new flat-roof insulation for the rear extension and low-energy LED lighting. Each LED bulb lasts 50,000 hours, compared to 10,000 hours for fluorescent bulbs and 3,000 hours for tungsten ones.

Another homeowner, Philippe Bassett, lifted his 1960s house in Esher from a G to a B/C rating on its Energy Performance Certificate, using a new technology called Bolix (www.studiocelandine.com) – polystyrene panels stuck onto his external walls, which are then rendered.

"There is a huge range of materials at home owners' disposal now," says Simon McWhirter, homes campaigner for World Wildlife Fund. "Sadly, builders are not yet familiar with many of them and stick with inefficient methods. But with new slimline wall insulation, people living in older, single-skinned homes really have the materials to be able to insulate them."

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Smart meters: are they the answer to big bills?

With energy bills at a record high, millions of Britons may be worrying about how they are going to pay to heat and power their homes this winter. Cutting back on energy use is one way to limit the financial damage of wintertime, but so few of us know where to start. This is where the new generation of "smart meters" can come in.

A smart meter is a small wireless transmitter that receives signals from your gas and electricity meter about your energy use. This information is then forwarded to a portable display that can be prominently placed in the home, which can be read by the customer. The idea is that if you can clearly and easily see how much energy you are using and how much it is costing then it should prompt a change of behaviour. In other words, customers will become more energy-conscious and this in turn will see them take steps to reduce their power bills. "Smart meters will help people understand energy better. Standard meters were hidden away in a cupboard not telling you much, but smart meters can show you how much you are saving by turning down the thermostat in an instant. In addition, smart meters make deals more transparent – if you can see your pattern of energy use, you can see what tariff suits your needs," said Marian Spain, director of strategy at the Energy Saving Trust.

A one-off £49 installation fee is charged, but savings soon start to be made.

The Energy Saving Trust reckons that the gadget can help knock 5 per cent off the average household energy bill. That equates to an annual savings of between £50 and £70. The theory is that those who use a smart meter would be more inclined to make energy saving decisions such as insulating their lofts, turning down their thermostats and switching appliances off rather than leaving them on standby. The meters can also help reduce inaccurate billing – a big bugbear among consumers. This is because, since the meters can be read remotely by providers, bill accuracy is assured.

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