Environmentally Controlled Window Shade

Window shades and blinds can save money. Blinds can reduce heat gain from a window by as much as 45% in the summer (U.S. Department of Energy). Also, as an example, 1,300 kWh/m2 of heat come through south facing windows in Laramie, WY each year, assuming every day is sunny (Sustainable by Design). The average cost of a kWh in the U.S. in August, 2016 was 12.90 cents (U.S. Department of Energy, 2016). Using these numbers, the energy savings from effective window blind use could be as much as $75.47 per square meter of window per year. For buildings with very large windows, these costs can add up. These energy savings are not seen by most, however. Window blinds or shades are often not adjusted to their ideal position. Additionally, many people have very tall or high-up windows, and using motorized blinds/shades may be the only way for the blinds/shades to be adjusted. The goal of this project was to create a low-cost device which automatically adjusts a window shade based on indoor temperature and outdoor sunlight. Furthermore, the device gives full manual control of the shade through a remote control. On the remote control, the desired indoor temperature is displayed and the remote control can be used to set the desired indoor temperature.