Attaching appliances to a power socket via a smart plug containing sensors and a ZigBee transceiver allows information about the appliances’ power consumption to be beamed automatically to a broadband router within the home, and thence to a web server located elsewhere. Consumers can interrogate this server from a PC or iPhone to see not only the consumption pattern of various appliances attached to smart plugs around the home, but also to send instructions back to switch them on or off.
“People make 10-20% savings when they get this kind of information,” says Adrian Tuck, Tendril’s chief executive. “And remember every kilowatt saved in the home saves three at the generating station.”
If half the households in America cut their power consumption by just 10%, it would be like taking 8m cars off the road. Or doubling the amount of energy produced from renewable sources, such as expensive, roof-top solar panels. Read the whole article
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