automatic curtain control - 'curtains' for draughts

11-30 — elektor november 1980 automatic curtain control Ci~1. I1 A iil: l "curtains" for draughts Quite a lot of energy can be saved if the curtains are drawn as soon as the light begins to fade. This is something which can quite easily be forgotten and so if it can be done automatically, so much the better. The circuit described here does the job electronically and although it costs a little electrical energy, it has many advantages, one of them being that it keeps burglars in the dark when you"re away on holiday, since it continues to operate in your absence. Last April the Organisation for Applied Scientific Research in The Netherlands (TNO) published a report on the energy- saving possibilities provided by curtains, especially with regard to their use in the home and in the office. The object of the exercise was to see how much heat dissipation through the outside walls is affected by curtains, window sills, the position of the radiators, etc. Research was carried out in a s...