How I save 80 kWh/year on our electric adjustable beds

Zwerius · 09-23-14, 06:24 AM

We have 2 electric adjustable beds.
The drives/motors operate at 24V and the control buttons are in the 24V circuit.
This means that the transformers (that are capable of supplying enough power for the motors) are always on. There's always voltage on the primary side af the trafos.
I changed the circuitry such that a 9V block battery takes care of controlling a relay that's switching the primary side of the transformer. Right after switching on, the transformer supplies the voltage to hold a second relay. So the battery needs to supply the power for the first relay only for a few milliseconds.
Savings for the two adjustable beds: approx. 80 kWh/year.
A short description (in Dutch) is on my website: Lattenbodems - geen energierekening meer: energieneutraal woonhuis fam. Kriegsman Ootmarsum
The electrical sheme is here: Schema aandrijving lattenbodem - geen energierekening meer: energieneutraal woonhuis fam. Kriegsman Ootmarsum
S1/S2 are the controlswitches
ES1/ES2 are the limitswitches (standard in the beds, to limit the movement of the movable parts of the bed)
Blue lines show the original circuitry. Red is what I added.
The drawing is just for one of the two motors of each bed.
The upper part of the scheme is required one time per bed.
In the lower part of the scheme the diodes are required two times per bed (one for each motor). And R2 + resistor only once. In the lower left side you read: "van 2e aandrijving" which means "from second drive(motor)"
The description of how it works is at the bottom of the page.

Hope this can be helpfull for some of you guys!

oil pan 4 · 09-24-14, 10:51 AM

This could be applied to just about anything that always has a hot transformer.

Zwerius · 09-25-14, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

This could be applied to just about anything that always has a hot transformer.

You are right!

The only thing is: "Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." (Goethe)

NeilBlanchard · 09-26-14, 09:40 PM

This should be applied to doorbells, I think.

Zwerius · 09-27-14, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

This should be applied to doorbells, I think.

You van see my doorbell in ths thread: http://ecorenovator.org/forum/conser...door-bell.html

NeilBlanchard · 09-27-14, 07:38 AM

I did see that later. My issue is that both my doorbell buttons are under roofs on porches. We forget about parasitic loads, and when you try to solve them, things get interesting.

pigseye · 10-23-14, 04:06 PM

This is brilliant! Thank you for sharing. It really makes me think about all the phantom loads in my house.

Although I could probably eliminate every phantom load and not make a dent in our consumption due to three teenage daughters.

Thanks!

09-23-14, 06:24 AM	#1
Zwerius Helper EcoRenovator Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 70 Thanks: 18 Thanked 26 Times in 14 Posts	How I save 80 kWh/year on our electric adjustable beds We have 2 electric adjustable beds. The drives/motors operate at 24V and the control buttons are in the 24V circuit. This means that the transformers (that are capable of supplying enough power for the motors) are always on. There's always voltage on the primary side af the trafos. I changed the circuitry such that a 9V block battery takes care of controlling a relay that's switching the primary side of the transformer. Right after switching on, the transformer supplies the voltage to hold a second relay. So the battery needs to supply the power for the first relay only for a few milliseconds. Savings for the two adjustable beds: approx. 80 kWh/year. A short description (in Dutch) is on my website: Lattenbodems - geen energierekening meer: energieneutraal woonhuis fam. Kriegsman Ootmarsum The electrical sheme is here: Schema aandrijving lattenbodem - geen energierekening meer: energieneutraal woonhuis fam. Kriegsman Ootmarsum S1/S2 are the controlswitches ES1/ES2 are the limitswitches (standard in the beds, to limit the movement of the movable parts of the bed) Blue lines show the original circuitry. Red is what I added. The drawing is just for one of the two motors of each bed. The upper part of the scheme is required one time per bed. In the lower part of the scheme the diodes are required two times per bed (one for each motor). And R2 + resistor only once. In the lower left side you read: "van 2e aandrijving" which means "from second drive(motor)" The description of how it works is at the bottom of the page. Hope this can be helpfull for some of you guys!

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09-24-14, 10:51 AM	#2
oil pan 4 Land owner Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: NM Posts: 1,026 Thanks: 12 Thanked 127 Times in 107 Posts	This could be applied to just about anything that always has a hot transformer.

09-26-14, 09:40 PM	#4
NeilBlanchard Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Maynard, MA Eaarth Posts: 383 Thanks: 78 Thanked 39 Times in 32 Posts	This should be applied to doorbells, I think.

09-27-14, 07:38 AM	#6
NeilBlanchard Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Maynard, MA Eaarth Posts: 383 Thanks: 78 Thanked 39 Times in 32 Posts	I did see that later. My issue is that both my doorbell buttons are under roofs on porches. We forget about parasitic loads, and when you try to solve them, things get interesting.

10-23-14, 04:06 PM	#7
pigseye Lurking Renovator Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	This is brilliant! Thank you for sharing. It really makes me think about all the phantom loads in my house. Although I could probably eliminate every phantom load and not make a dent in our consumption due to three teenage daughters. Thanks!