Forget about the iPad, the most beautiful piece of
technology our households will be sporting this year is the ‘wattson01’ and it’s totally green.
Fresh off the boat from the UK, the wattson ‘personal energy monitor’ is
the 2006 design by green technology firm DIY Kyoto. This nifty little device
hooks up wirelessly to your domestic electricity meter, giving you real-time
information on your energy consumption.
The sleek design is all about communication, telling users
how much energy their home is using in watts, dollars and cents and through
colour-changing lights.
The wattson comes with software – aptly named ‘holmes’ –
which allows you to download up to four weeks of data from the device, straight
to your computer and ultimately upload onto the DIY Kyoto website (for those
competitive types among us, you can compare usage with others).
Wattson can even help you make money, keeping track of energy
you put back into the grid from solar or wind energy.
DIY Kyoto claim that simply by being aware of what energy
you’re using can help you cut up to 20% off your electricity bills. However,
by far the most engaging thing about this clever little device is that itmakes saving money and looking after the environment sort of… well, ‘sexy’.
Starting from just AUD$199, you can buy
the ‘wattson01’ online from todae.com.au, neco.com.au
DIY Kyoto
diykyoto.com/au
