Are you tired of waking up groggy each morning and struggling out of bed? Have you ever tried to watch a movie, only to have sunlight glare on the screen? Do you want to save on energy costs and more efficiently end each day by removing a chore from your already full plate?
Opening and closing all the blinds in a house or business is a hassle. Until now, your only option for hassle-free blind control was outfitting your home or place of work with complex specialty “smart” blinds that are expensive and require professional installment. In fact, the Blinds with Benefits™ system can be retrofitted to modify your existing blinds and can be self-installed!
(Blindsgalore 2013)
The Blinds with Benefits™ system automatically opens and closes your blinds based on your chosen settings for amount of light and room temperature. This unique blind-control system functions similar to your thermostat and can measure temperature, light, and time of day to determine whether the blinds should be open, closed, or somewhere in between. The Blinds with Benefits™ system is simply a network of motors that can be fit to any blinds that function using a rotational mechanism. You just hook the Blinds with Benefits™ up to your blinds, download the partner app and enter your chosen settings, then let Blinds with Benefits™ do all the work.
So, how will Blinds with Benefits™ benefit you?
Are you tired of feeling groggy all day? Studies show that waking up with the sun each morning has immense health benefits. Humans are diurnal creatures that are naturally inclined to sleep during the dark hours of night and be awake during the daytime. Melatonin, a hormone that regulates our sleep patterns and many of the body’s circadian rhythms, is produced at night. Production stops upon optic exposure to daylight. Melatonin plays an important role in countering infection, inflammation, cancer, and autoimmunity, according to the May 2006 issue of Current Opinion in Investigational Drugs. When people are exposed to sunlight in the morning, our nocturnal melatonin production occurs sooner, so we sleep more easily at night. This melatonin rhythm phase advancement caused by exposure to bright morning light has been effective against insomnia, premenstrual syndrome, and seasonal affective disorder. Serotonin is the daytime precursor to melatonin. Moderately high levels of serotonin result in more positive moods and a calm, focused mental outlook. Waking up with the sun is directly correlated with hormone-regulation resulting in both better days and better rest at night (Mead 2008).
(Popkey 2017)
Blinds with Benefits™ will ensure you get to wake up with the sun every day. Similar to an alarm clock, the system can be set to open the blinds shortly before you would like to wake up. A sunlight-filled room will better prepare your mind and body for another hectic day, as well as promote long-term physical and mental health.
In addition to the immense health benefits, the Blinds with Benefits™ is incredibly easy to set so they close automatically at night–whatever time that is for you. It can be at sunset. It can be midnight. It can be whatever you choose. The Blinds with Benefits™ will also open your blinds automatically in the morning with the sun. It will improve privacy automatically by blocking the view through the window after dark. Even if your neighbors are a little creepy, you never have to feel like they are peeking in through your windows after dark again!
(Ben 2012)
About every 18 seconds in the United States, a burglary occurs. That is about 200 per hour and 4,800 per day. In addition, according to the FBI, home burglaries increase between 10-18 % during the months of July and August, prime vacation time. You don’t want to have to worry about your home’s safety while you’re having fun in the sun! In fact, as of 2016, 45 percent of Americans take a summer vacation, resulting in about 657 million trips between Memorial day and Labor Day (Statistic Brain 2016). Blinds with Benefits™ is just a small addition to your preexisting blind completely invisible from the outside, easily giving the impression that someone is home even when you are away. When it looks like someone is home, you are much less likely to be robbed. Blinds with Benefits™ is an easy, inexpensive protection against robbery and other petty crimes because it makes your home appear more active than it otherwise would. Sorry Home Alone fans–put the mannequins and booby traps away!
(Reasons 1970)
What’s that you say? Blinds with Benefits™ can help me save on energy costs too?
Are you tired of coming home after a long day only to realize the sun has turned your living room into a greenhouse? The sun has been beating in for hours while your pet soaks up the sun, yet your furniture fades and you have to crank up your air conditioner just to cool off. Then, when the energy bill comes, the frustration continues to build. Blinds with Benefits™ has a setting for this too! According to the Department of Energy, closing the blinds to reflect the light can reduce heat gain up to 45%. Blinds can also reflect the light onto a light-colored ceiling, which helps the light to diffuse without as much heat while still allowing some natural light into the room. In the winter, closed blinds can act as a barrier for heat loss, helping you save on heating costs as well (Rutkowski, 2013). While you’re at home or work, let Blinds with Benefits™ keep your house at your ideal temperature.
Blinds with Benefits™ can also be applied in businesses and office buildings, where you’ll save on energy and personnel costs. You no longer have to spend money paying an employee to walk around the building opening or closing the blinds for you, a needless expense of manpower when their time and energy could be used more effectively to benefit the company. Blinds with Benefits™ can be used to help workers to stay comfortable as well by keeping the office at a pleasant temperature. In addition Blinds with Benefits™ can be set to automatically adjust the blinds daily to avoid the glare on a computer or other surfaces. Ever feel like your colleagues or students are daydreaming during your meeting, presentation, or lecture? Close the blinds instantly to remove the temptation of gazing out the window in a conference room. Blinds with Benefits™ allows your business to be more green, more economical, and helps to create a comfortable and productive work environment.
(Bustle.com 2015)
The Blinds with Benefits™ system is fast and simple to install. First, determine how many windows you wish to be equipped with the system. When you order Blinds with Benefits™, you select how many windows you are going to convert and that is how many fittings you will receive. Each fitting contains a small motor that will be able to control any blind that functions using a rotational mechanism. Next, you will specify the number of rooms in your house that are in need of temperature control, and you will receive thermometers to place in each of these rooms. You will also receive four miniature light sensors with adhesive backs. You will stick one of these on every side of your house, so the system can tell how much sunlight the rooms of your house are receiving. A thermometer can be placed outside so the system can determine how hot it is. Each of these pieces will have Bluetooth capabilities and will be connected to a centralized system brain which is essentially a tablet. With this tablet, you will be able to create a schedule or a set of conditions in which your blinds will open and close. Also available is a cell phone app that can be used in conjunction with or to override the system brain. For your convenience, the override will be valid for 24 hours before the Blinds with Benefits™ return to their settings.
The Blinds with Benefits™ system is designed to open and close your blinds, first according to time of day, and then to control factors like privacy, natural light, and temperature. So, you may ask, since there are so many factors, what happens when the system encounters conflicting demands? Well, the system is equipped with a rule set.
First, you will select a time setting, meaning you specify when during the day or night you would like your blinds closed. The rest of the time, the system will be continuously monitoring the maintenance of your settings. In addition to setting specific times, you can set the blinds to automatically open when the sun rises and close when it sets. This is controlled by the sunlight sensors, and can affect all or some of the windows. Next, the temperature setting allows you to use your blinds to help keep your house at a desirable temperature and save on energy costs in the process. The temperature system is controlled by a feedback loop where the temperature is monitored in individual rooms. Then you set your blind type, either light reflecting (light colored) or light absorbing (dark colored). If the temperature deviates from your ideal set point, the temperature inside is compared to the outdoor temperature, and the blinds will open, close, or fall somewhere in between based on their reflecting or insulating properties to help control the temperature of the room. The sunlight detectors can again be used to determine where the sunlight is entering the room, meaning just the blinds on the sunlit side will be altered if the room is getting too warm. The Blinds with Benefits™ system can make decisions in real-time based on the measurements it takes, and manipulates the blind position in order to maintain your settings and your sanity!
Blinds with Benefits™ is a unique and simple system designed to meet all your home or office’s hassle-free blind-control needs. Simply attach the motor system to your existing blinds, download and set the wifi/bluetooth-integrated app as you desire, and enjoy your improved privacy, security, and health for years to come!
References:
Alt, Kimberly. “Protect Your Home While on Vacation.” ASecureLife.com. N.p., 22 Feb. 2016. Web. 04 Mar. 2017.
Ben. “Windows.” Memecenter. N.p., 2012. Web. 04 Mar. 2017.
Blindsgalore. “How to Use Standard Cord Lift and Tilt Control Blinds.” YouTube. YouTube, 22 July 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2017.
“Boo Monsters Inc Gif.” Popkey. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.
Giphy. “Waking Up GIF.” GIPHY. N.p., 27 Sept. 2016. Web. 04 Mar. 2017.
Health Perspectives. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Apr. 2008. Web. 04 Mar. 2017.
Ladygray. “Reasons Why I Don’t Look Out My Window At Night.” Memecenter. N.p., 2013. Web. 04 Mar. 2017.
Mead, M. Nathaniel. “Benefits of Sunlight: A Bright Spot for Human Health.” Environmental Health Perspectives. Apr. 2008. Web. 09 Mar. 2017.
Skinner, Tom. “Holiday Home Security.” LinkedIn SlideShare. N.p., 23 Nov. 2010. Web. 04 Mar. 2017.
“Summer Vacation Travel Statistics.” Statistic Brain. Statistic Brain, 03 Mar. 2015. Web. 04 Mar. 2017.
“Reasons Why ‘Home Alone’ Is Possibly the Greatest Film Ever.” Reasons Why ‘Home Alone’ Is Possibly the Greatest Film Ever. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.
Rutkowski, Izabela. “How to Use Your Shades, Blinds, and Curtains to Beat the Heat”. Consumer Reports. 16 July 2013. Web. 09 Mar 2017.
“The Best Joe Biden Memes Of All Time To Honor His Big Announcement”. Bustle.com. 21 Oct 21 2015. Web. 09 Mar. 2017.
Blind with benefits, an eye catching product and name! I love the idea of an energy saving blind that not only helps you wake up to warm, bright morning rays of sunshine but also provides security for home! What a way to live!
The detailed description of how the system worked surely helps the reader gain an in-depth understanding of the mechanism of the blinds. The history and current statistics of issues with blinds only go on to emphasize why something like ‘Blind with benefits’ is needed.
From the overarching write up, it is understandable that the control variable is the amount of light, the manipulated is the blind position and the disturbance variable is the temperature of the room and settings. That being said, an explicit write up on the variables will surely be more helpful for the reader! In addition to this, I think variations in sleep cycle along with abrupt weather changes can alter benefits of ‘blinds with benefits’. But the obvious limitation to these variables are that it will be hard to control.
Within the given disturbance parameter, I think the proposed control scheme works well! In fact in currently exists, showing that this system is completely plausible!
Although this is a great process, I think it is imperative to address the economic costs associated with the process. Based on personal understanding of the process, it is expensive to install it and hence would be a nice too look into what could potentially be altered to obtain better results.
I think it could be an interesting activity to look at the prices of different automation companies and see how and why their prices vary!
I really enjoyed the tone of this article. It sounded like an infomercial that you would see early in the morning on a random channel or QVC. I wish Billy Mays could rep this product for them- this is right up his alley.
I think the authors did a good job of relating the ease of use and importance of their product. I would not have necessarily thought of changing anything about blinds, especially because they now come motorized, and I appreciate that they took it one step further. Not only is their product easy to use, it has real, tangible benefits. I did not think about the importance of sunlight to your sleep schedule or even the cost benefits to having your blinds open or closed. The business aspect was interesting because it would be a real benefit to a business to not have to worry about excess sunlight inside or their customers being too warm.
I also like the idea of the whole process being connected to a smart device. This increases the user-friendly aspect of the system and the viability of the system being put into practice. Consumers are more likely to buy something that connects to something they already have if they are worried about costs and ease of use, as consumers of this specific product would be.
In reference to the proposed control scheme, the variables monitored are temperature inside and outside and light sensors. This makes for a relatively simple control scheme and accounts for the important variables in the system. This is an interesting system that seems feasible.
I wish that the section explaining how the system works with the multiple different inputs to optimize your experience had a bit more clarity. You addressed this near the end with “conflicting demands,” however I do not think I ever really understood how it picks which setting is more important between sunlight and temperature of the room. This blog may be assuming that temperature is the most important factor as it relates directly to cost savings on heating and cooling, which is valid, but I would prefer it to be directly stated or addressed.
I also would like for the controlled, manipulated, and disturbance variables to be more clearly addressed. While this article reads exceptionally well, considering the audience of classmates/those assessing feasibility, it would be nice to more clearly state exactly what it is changing and based on what. While it is said throughout the article, a more clear statement of this intent would help to cement the basics of their idea into the reader’s mind as they read through the article.
This group could also explore the fail system of the blinds. What happens if the motor breaks, or the thermometers or photo sensors are broken? How is this accounted for within the system, or how would the consumer be notified to fix this problem?
Overall, this is a really good idea that is usable in everyday life for myriad different people. The other interesting idea would be the cost of the system and how long you would need to have the system to see a return on your investment by way of these decreased energy bills!
I, much like Tori, liked the tone of the post. The name “Blinds with Benefits” is funny and memorable. As to the usefulness of the application, I have not heard of such a product and it seems like the benefits of the product can have a profound impact on someones life. I appreciated how many different applications of the product were discussed such as helping to wake someone up, saving energy, comfort, etc. Also connecting the blinds to an app on a smart phone is almost always a good idea for a product.
The proposed control scheme mentioned has disturbance variables such as temperature changes and light intensity. The manipulated variable would appear to be the openness of the blinds, and the manipulated variable isn’t entirely clear to me. I would suppose that a couple possible manipulated variables would be inside temperature and ambient light inside. This process can control the aforementioned manipulated variables. Despite that, the control scheme is relatively simple and monitors important disturbances. \
This application of this product would definitely be useful to businesses and homes with the means to purchase it. I couldn’t imagine that this product would be very cheap which could eliminate a large portion of the market given that it isn’t a necessity. Something like a smart phone is an expensive product that has become a necessity, and this is not as important in ones life as a phone. If the price of the product could be kept in an affordable realm, that would maximize profitability and feasibility.
Blinds with Benefits is such an amazing idea which can be applied to daily life. There is no doubt that everyone in the world wants to have some automatically controlled blind system so that we don’t have to remember to modify blinds all the time.
Several advantages are listed in the article and it highlights the importance of automatically controlled blinds. It is beneficial to health by controlling the production of Melatonin, a chemical produced at night and consumed under exposure under sunlight. Blinds with Benefits can guarantee the production and consumption of Melatonin by adjusting sunlight into the house appropriately. Automatically open blinds at morning can serve as clock and it is a pleasure to wake up with sunlight. Room temperature can also be controlled by controlling blinds. Privacy can be protected by automatically having blinds down in the evening. Automatically controlled blinds create an appearance that someone stay at home and decreases the chance of burglary. With so much benefit, Blinds with Benefits is worth installing.
The controlling system uses a feedback loop. Controlled variables include room temperature and sunlight exposure. The system allows time settling so that blinds will be closed at night and open in the morning. With a sunlight sensor, over-exposure of furniture can be avoided. Room temperature can be kept at moderate level by changing blinds between light absorbing and light reflecting.
I would say this is a practical and interesting idea. But it will be better to identify controlled variables, manipulate variables and disturbance variables more clearly. Also, as there are too many variables and too many goals we want to achieve, do we also need to set the priority of each factor. For example, in the context of someone set the desired temperature and sunlight level for his home in a cold but sunny day, the temperature setting would like light absorbing blinds to heat up the house but the sunlight sensor would like light reflecting blinds to avoid sunlight exposure. Which one should the system choose?
I think Blinds with Benefits is a system that can significantly improve life quality. However, the major problem for the idea right now is that it wants to achieve too many goals with one system. It will make more sense to focus on one goal.
I’m impressed by the originality of the idea retrofitting the existing blinds to achieve the same goal as installing professional smart blinds. I can imagine myself using this system to improve the quality of my sleep and to
In addition to an approachable writing style, the writers effectively explained the mechanisms of their product and advertised its benefits. I really like the way the concept of melatonin and sleeping patterns of humans are introduced; potential customers can get caught by this and continue to read ahead. The authors make their article more reliable with data from authentic sources and references listed in details. I like the pictures used as well, they make a lot of fun and add to the overall reading experience!
Problems with this article and design first come with the confusing controlled and manipulated variables. If the customer select a time setting, the controlled variable is the light coming into the room (this is still kind of confusing because we actually don’t want the incoming light to be consistent for the whole day). Speaking of the temperature setting, I don’t think temperature within a room can be simply controlled by the blinds. Instead, heat conduction is to be taken into consideration, which means it would be better to eliminate the temperature control function or change this function to assistant temperature control.
I think further consideration is needed for the assumption that the motor is able to control ‘any blind that functions using a rotational mechanism’. Probably give it a look at the details of rotational mechanism of blinds. I don’t really understand why this application could reduce the likelihood of burglary and I think a comparison of price to the existing smart blind system would benefit as well.
Overall, I think this is a well-written article and great design. Even though there exist some problems, I think they can all be solved without changing the very core idea!