Sonne Industries on Wednesday launched its Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for the Light Sentry, a smart home lighting system that could help users save money on their indoor and outdoor lighting setups. The Light Sentry system will use a Natural Light Sensor to automatically power lights to desired intensity levels, adjusting them to environmental conditions, seasonal changes and even time.
Placed in an area with exposure to sunlight, the Natural Light Sensor will communicate with other Light Sentry components, including Portable Power Gates, that will be plugged into any outlet and connected to lights and other devices. The system will then continuously monitor lighting conditions and make adjustments in order to improve power consumption efficiency. Furthermore, users will be able to set up their Light Sentry from a PC and Mac computer, and further customize their home or office lighting needs.
The company notes that according to a 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, appliances, electronics and lighting make up 35% of U.S. households energy usage each year, or $1,400 in annual costs. Light Sentry users are expected to save 32% in energy for a single 60 watt bulb that’s used 5 hours per day.
Light Sentry needs $200,000 to become a commercial product, with pledges ranging from $5 to $10,000. Once the funding goal is reached, the products will ship by the end of November. The cheapest Light Sentry setup costs $159, which is $90 off its future retail price.
A video showing how the Light Sentry system would work follows below.
