Project Sustainability

Peggy Smedley and Kirstin Dow, professor, Dept. of Geography at University of South Carolina, talk about how heat mapping might improve work. She talks about how heat mapping can help begin with work strategies and thinking about exposure over the long term at work. They also discuss: How to avoid accidents in extreme temperatures. How heat mapping can prevent illness or death. The importance of k...

Peggy Smedley and Kirstin Dow, professor, Dept. of Geography at University of South Carolina, talk about how heat mapping might help improve health. She says heat is the one hazard our cities have done the least planning around. They also discuss: How heat mapping can impact the livability of cities. The variables that change our overall exposure to heat. How machine learning will come into play t...

Heat is the deadliest of all the weather hazards. Peggy Smedley and Kirstin Dow, professor, Dept. of Geography, University of South Carolina, talk about heat mapping. She says it is timely in Columbia, South Carolina, and the way we have built our cities actually traps heat from solar radiation—the roads and buildings heat up. They also discuss: How machine learning can help with heat mapping. Som...

Peggy Smedley and Benedict Talplacido, VP of brand strategy and marketing, Sunflare, talk about solar panels. He says people have different motivations for wanting solar panels, but most are interested in saving money.  They also discuss: The benefits that exist depending on where you are in the country.  The various types of solar panels that homeowners need to consider. The true cost of solar an...

Peggy Smedley and Brad Wills, director, strategic customers and programs, Schneider Electric, talk about what led to the company launching its latest innovation to turn existing home energy panels into smart panels. He says it gives more flexibility and a whole platform with a simple app.  They also discuss: The value of this technology for the homeowner. How to plan for home resiliency. The rise...

Peggy Smedley and Elizabeth Parks, president, Parks Associates, talk about home-energy solutions and smart lighting. She says new research shows 13% of U.S. households have a smart light bulb and 6% have a smart-lighting control system, keeping in mind 1% is about equal to 1 million households. They also discuss: The benefits and driving forces behind smart lighting adoption. How much electricity...

Peggy Smedley and Elizabeth Parks, president, Parks Associates, talk about what type of home energy solutions homeowners are most interested in today. She says it is tracking a lot of smart-home-energy devices, solar panels, and electric vehicles.  They also discuss: That energy costs are increasing, which is a big driver to some of the new solutions. How many households have a smart thermostat. T...

Peggy Smedley and Akshita Iyer, CEO and Founder, Ome, talk about smart home technology and sustainability in the home. She says in the last few years sustainability has been an increasingly important topic, especially for the younger generation. They also discuss: The genesis of the product around being able to retrofit existing appliances. How to be more sustainable by upgrading what you already...

Peggy Smedley and Akshita Iyer, CEO and Founder, Ome, talk about convenience in the home. She says today more than ever our lives have changed; in the last few years, the home has become more important than ever before. They also discuss: How many parents struggle with the work-at-home-life balance—and how automation can help. The importance of bringing cohesion with how we interact with all these...

Peggy Smedley and David Eby, founder and CEO of Cooktop Safety, talk about how homes can benefit from a smart cooktop monitor. He says energy monitoring can pinpoint different energy consumed by the oven or the burners and can provide value for users. They also discuss: The design of the product and safety in the home. How technology can eliminate grease fires. How the technology is secured. cookt...

Peggy Smedley and David Eby, founder and CEO of Cooktop Safety, talk about the technology behind his smart cooktop monitor. He says it is a new technology that helps mitigate injury and property damage and loss. They also discuss: The fire suppression business and how it has always been after the fact—but that technology can help predict and prevent a fire before it happens. How AI (artificial int...

Peggy Smedley and Joe Whitaker, vice president of business development, Origin Acoustics, talk about some of the brands leading the charge in a mixed format in the audio world. He shares examples of audio that looks like art. They also discuss: Brands that make more attractive, louder, and powerful technology, and the technologies that disappear. If homeowners should wait for the price to come dow...

Peggy Smedley and Joe Whitaker, vice president of business development, Origin Acoustics, talk about the history of speakers and how they have advanced. He says speakers have been around for a long time and we have seen a transition or a growth that is more based on the technology of audio rather than availability. They also discuss: The three parts of the history of the speaker. The biggest techn...

Peggy Smedley and Joe Whitaker, vice president of business development, Origin Acoustics, talk about how acoustics and speakers can make the sounds of life and home so much better. He says audio is an important thing for the spirit.  They also discuss: One important thing to remember about any space: the purpose of the music you are playing. How furniture, tile, artwork, and other components in a...

Peggy Smedley and Joe Whitaker, vice president of business development, Origin Acoustics, talk about smart building trends and the smart building market in general. He starts by talking about some of the more popular trends, which happen to be surrounding speakers. They also discuss: What resi-mertial means, which is the style of residential used in commercial spaces. Why it is important to have t...

Peggy Smedley and Ian Bryant, operations manager, Premiere SAV, talk about acoustics and speakers. He says there hasn't been a huge change in speakers in the past 20, 30, 40 years, but what has changed is the way we experience it and the design aspects. They also discuss: Retrofitting speakers into homes. Considerations for speakers indoors and outdoors. The importance of running the infrastructur...

Peggy Smedley and Ian Bryant, operations manager, Premiere SAV, talk about smart home trends. He says the most impactful thing happening this year has been the introduction of Matter, which is the standardization of protocol for communicating among all your smart home devices.  They also discuss: The rise of direct-to-consumer products and the role of the integrator. What homebuyers are looking fo...

Jason Turner, vice president and co-founder, PowerShades, returns to the show to talk with Peggy Smedley about the advantages of motorizing your window shades. Most people when they buy a home or move into a new home are already considering something for the windows—and motorizing window shades offer unique benefits. They also discuss: How they bring greater energy savings. How motorized shades ca...

Peggy Smedley and Bailey Parker, executive director, Gills Creek Watershed Assn., talk about watersheds and why they are important. She says think of it as a catch basin—every bit of water that comes into that point is the watershed. They also discuss: How urbanization is impacting watersheds and why every little act counts. What happened following the flood of 2015 when Gills Creek broke through...

Peggy Smedley and Sheeva Sairafi, cofounder and president, HoldOn, talk about sustainable household goods. She gives backstory about her company and how it makes nontoxic plant-based products that are all fully certified home compostable in an effort to help reduce plastic pollution and give people a sustainable option for their trash and zip-seal bags. They also discuss: The problem HoldOn is try...

Peggy Smedley and Chris Howells, senior training and development manager, AprilAire Academy, talk about the importance of indoor air quality in our homes. He says we take on average 20,000 breaths per days, which is 3,000 pounds of air we are putting into our body, and we spend 90% of our times indoors. With all this in mind, it is important to understand the quality of air we are breathing. They...

Peggy Smedley and Diane Cook, professor, Washington State University, talk about smart homes and what she has done with the CASAS Smart Home project at Washington State University. She explains how the project started with her interest in finding an application of machine learning that would challenge the field and force her to find new methods, while also having a significant societal implication...

Peggy Smedley and Diane Cook, professor, Washington State University, talk about the data that can be acquired by sensors in our home and the CASAS Smart Home project. She says her background is designing machine learning techniques, which are computer programs that learn patterns from data. They also discuss: Three different areas of machine learning in the home. The difference between supervised...

Peggy Smedley and Martin Moore-Ede, director, Circadian Light Research Center, talk about the significance of circadian light. He says it is a critical topic and we are all focused on health—but in fact the light you see is as important to your health as any food you eat, water you drink, or air you breath. They also discuss: How LED lights are a blessing in terms of energy conservation, but they...

Peggy Smedley and Martin Moore-Ede, director, Circadian Light Research Center, talk about the importance of circadian light. He says we have had a revolution in lighting. Lighting used to be pretty simple, but about 2013 a revolution took place when LEDs (light emitting diodes) came into the market. They also discuss: The percentage of LEDs in 2013 compared to today. The advantages of LEDs and the...