Energy-Saving Gadgets

It’s Earth Day and the guys at Engadget, with the help of Inhabitat, have compiled a list of energy-saving devices that assure you of reducing your utilities bill and lowering your carbon footprint. In no particular order:

Kill-A-Watt – This gadget (pictured) has been around for quite a long time. It is very simple to use: simply plug it into an outlet and put any device to learn how much kilowatt hour it consumes. It can even calculate energy expenses by the day, month, or year. It costs about US$20.

SunPower iPhone App – This unique application is handy for solar-powered homes as it monitors the energy the solar panels are being produced in real time as well as your actual household power consumption.

The Energy Detective – To save energy at home, you have to know how much energy you use. This household power monitor has a transmitting unit that taps into a circuit breaker, dual current transformers that are attached to power cables, and a receiving unit that plugs into a wall outlet so it would display power usage in real time. It also connects to Google PowerMeter. Costs $145.

Visible Energy UFO Powercenter – This smart powerstrip gathers information on how much energy all of your plugged devices consume every 5 minutes. Its LED status light changes color from green to yellow to red depending on the amount of power being used. You can also set it to turn devices on or off at specific times. It is set to debut later in the year.

Wiser Home Control – This gadget connects nearly on every device in your house, from lighting controls to security to air conditioning to motorized blinds and curtains, and control all of it through the Internet or your cell phone. Prices vary according to options.

Energy Orb – This eye-catching energy monitor changes color to visualize how much power your home consumes. Sadly, this is a design concept and has yet to be produced in mass quantities.

Wattson – Another power-monitoring device that features a sensor hooked to power cables, a wireless receiver, and a readout on top of the box to show energy consumption by the kilowatt or by cash spent. It also glows in different colors depending on how much energy your home consumes. Costs $280.

Source: Engadget

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• Pedal power is fueling green awareness (cnn.com)
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• Google Releases API for Energy Tool PowerMeter (gigaom.com)

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