HGTV Dream Home Goes High Tech with Energy Management

HGTV, the unequaled masters of bringing the latest in home trends to millions of consumers, has finally embraced technology in its newest Dream Home.

The gorgeous 3,400-square-foot ski-in/ski-out chalet, which sits literally at the base of the ski slopes at Spruce Peak in Vermont’s Stowe Mountain Resort, is the first project to include lighting and shade control, thanks to first-time sponsor Lutron Electronics.

Amid all its fabulous color palettes, granite countertops, shiny stainless steel appliances, and perfectly designed finishing touches in every nook and cranny, the custom-built home is an amazing display of how vital lighting and shade control can be to the energy management of a home.

And it’s a good thing that the technology is on display because HGTV has more than 76 million entries in the giveaway this year, a 44 percent increase over 2010.

CE Pro was treated to a private tour of the $2.1 million prize package, which includes the home, a new GMC Acadia Denali SUV and $500,000 in cash.

Energy-Saving Initiatives
HGTV’s house planner, Jack Thomasson, is the man responsible for planning the Dream Home every year, and he is thrilled the house has finally gone high tech. The 3-bedroom, 3.5-bath house features a Lutron RadioRA 2 home control system and Sivoia QS Wireless shades, both of which operate on Lutron's wireless Clear Connect RF Technology, plus a Maestro countdown timer and occupancy sensor.

Thomasson demonstrated how Lutron’s new RadioRA 2 iPad app could control both the lighting and shades. He intuitively brightened and dimmed lights throughout the home to preferred levels. Likewise, he raised and lowered some of the 64 different shades in the home, which range between 12- and 14-feet high.



In the home’s annex seating area just off the kitchen, large floor-to-ceiling windows surround the nook on three sides. When we first entered the room, the shades were lowered and the room temperature on the Honeywell thermostat read 70 degrees. Thomasson silently raised the five 168-inch high shades using the iPad app. Immediately, the heat of the winter sun could be felt as the shades rolled up into the custom-made cedar valences.

Later during the tour, the group moved into a downstairs guest bedroom with the same southern exposure as the annex upstairs. The room’s shades had not been lowered during the day, letting the room bake even in the winter sun. Remarkably, the thermostat read a whopping 78 degrees … 8 degrees more. The ability of the shades to manage the home’s energy consumption was apparent.

Thomasson and the HGTV team also value the convenience of the iPad app. “This house has more large windows than any other home we’ve done before. It has helped us create an “adult tree house’ feel to the home,” he notes. “It’s such a luxury to be able to ‘shut down’ this house at the touch of a button. In previous Dream Homes, it’s taken 45 minutes to turn off and close up everything.”

Another striking example of the shade control can be found in the master bathroom, where an automated shade sits on a large window behind the tub. When the shade is raised, the window reveals a spectacular view of Mt. Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak.

The Lutron RadioRA 2 system is set up so that each shade can be controlled individually via an in-wall keypad or an iPad. Lights can be operated individually, as well, and also as part of a lighting scene. The home’s integrator is Martin Hawkes of Tree Ridge Enterprise in Bristol, Vt. He created a handful of scenes for each room, but global scenes designed to sweep through all areas of the house to adjust the lights and shades synchronously in preparation for bedtime, for example, could be added to the RadioRA 2 at any time.