High-end sustainable W.I.N.D. House can be controlled by smartphone

W.I.N.D. House, by Dutch firm UNStudio (Photo: Fedde de Weert) Image Gallery (17 images) We've reported on a number of homes that can be controlled from inside or afar by smartphone, including the El Refugio Inteligente and Schoolmasters houses. The recently-completed W.I.N.D. House, by Dutch firm UNStudio, is another such example, and the high-end residence also sports sustainable technology that reduces its dependence on the grid. Initial work on the W.I.N.D. House began back in 2008, and the project was completed in 2014. The home features a usable floorspace of 406 sq m (4370 sq ft), and takes the basic shape of a flower petal, with fully glazed front and rear facades. The interior follows features a mostly open-plan layout. Private areas like bedrooms face the woods at the rear, while more public living areas offer views of the expansive landscape in front of the home. These rooms are designed to be flexible though, and a bedroom can be turned into an office or whatever else is required with relative ease. W.I.N.D. House sports a solar panel array on its roof. A UNStudio representative told Gizmag that the size of the roof prevented the firm from installing an array large enough to allow the home to operate fully off-grid, but that it helps reduce grid-based electricity requirements. Further energy-saving technology installed in the home includes a heat recovery ventilation system, an air source heat pump, and tinted glass which mitigates the effects of solar heat gain. The home's automation system is an open-source system that uses the KNX Protocol to manage the lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation, solar panels, and security. Using this, the owners can fine-control their home from afar with an internet-connected smartphone or other device, thus enabling them to switch the lights on or ensure the heating's on high enough before they get home, for example, in addition to monitoring energy usage. Source: UNStudio