ENERGY JOULE: Get paid for your energy reduction
by Jorge Chapa
How would you like to be paid to save some energy? That is the concept behind “demand-response” a process in which energy companies pay users to use less power. There are a number of companies that are able to manage this process, but only one of them does it with style, by using the Energy Joule, designed by Ambient Systems (we mentioned them earlier today as the makers of the Ambient Orb)
Available only for users of Consumer Powerline’s demand-response program, the Energy Joule, or Home Joule as it is called now, is a fun and clever to get your weather forecast, current temperature and more importantly, your current electricity cost all in one little gadget. Like the Ambient Orb, the Energy Joule changes color depending on what the current cost of electricity is. It will also let you know if there is a possibility of earning some cash back by diminishing your energy usage in that particular moment.
While the Energy Joule is certainly the more practical of the two gadgets - what with its numerical data and specific verbal directives on its clock-like face - we must say that we’re still a bit more partial to the subtler communication strategy of the pulsing minimalist orb. We’re waiting for Ambient to realize whats good for them and bring the Joule’s energy monitering technology to the Ambient Orb so we don’t have to track down a hack!
+ The Energy Joule
+ Consumer Powerline
+ The Ambient Energy Orb
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Cool find Jorge. I’m thinking that even if the process doesn’t give cash back to the users (which I think is a pretty compelling incentive), users would know that their own bills will be lower based on the automatic feedback. It’s really about knowing what’s being consumed.