Energy monitoring gets sexy
Fri, Sep 11 2009 at 11:23 AM EST
This is brilliant.
People can't/won't change their energy consumption habits if they can't see how they actually use energy. Monitors like TED: The Energy Detective are valuable tools for tracking energy use and should be installed in every home, but they are, for the most part pretty utilitarian -- they give you the information, and that's about it.
The Energy Aware (EA) Clock takes energy monitoring and drops in a healthy dose of sexy sleek design. The clock shows the peaks and valleys of a day's energy use. The more electricity that's used, the farther the line runs from center.
Imagine if every home had monitors like TED paired with clocks and other devices like the EA Clock showing how much juice it was pulling down (and how much it's costing) from the energy grid. People adjust their habits when they see the nickels and dimes running out the door.
Building codes should require that all new homes have energy models. Every existing home that gets an energy audit should have one installed with the goal of eventually seeing energy monitors in every building. It's not hard to imagine the already fairly low cost (under $200) dropping by orders of magnitude with the high volume that would be required to outfit every building.
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