Heating or cooling an entire building can sometimes be inefficient and wasteful. Sage Builders LLC, your premier home construction and renovation source in west suburban Boston, knows that to save on utilities, heating and cooling must be efficient and effective. A new device under development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has the potential to significantly reduce the need for indoor heating and cooling by focusing on the individual rather than the entire building.

The Wristify bracelet is a thermoelectric device that helps alter an individual’s perceptions of heat and cold. It’s designed to be worn on the wrist, where it delivers customized waves of heat or cold directly to the skin. The device is based on the concept that when a person’s body is first subjected to a change in temperature, it’s more sensitive to the new sensations of heat or cold. For example, when first walking outside on a brisk fall day, a person may perceive the temperature as cold, but the body soon acclimates and the chilly temperatures aren’t felt so severely.

The device delivers temperature shifts as needed to fool the body into thinking it has experienced a sudden temperature change. This way, the individual will feel consistently warm or cool even if indoor temperatures are higher or lower than might otherwise be considered comfortable. Building occupants will be less likely to need more heating or cooling in their spaces to feel comfortable. And if occupants can better tolerate warmer indoor temperatures in the summer and cooler ones in the winter, significant savings on utility costs will result.

To help learn how to save on utilities, heating and cooling costs, contact Sage Builders LLC for more information, tips and suggestions for improving indoor comfort and keeping expenses under control.

Image via Shutterstock.com