Ever wonder how much energy your microwave uses? Or your hair dryer? You can stop wondering, because now your electrical outlet can give you that information thanks to the TalkingPlug™.
The TalkingPlug™ is the newest product by Zerofootprint, Inc., a Toronto-based company that offers services and software for people and businesses that want to lower their carbon footprint.
TalkingPlug is a small, easy-to-use apparatus that plugs into a regular electrical duplex receptacle outlet and enables two-way communication with the Internet. TalkingPlug was developed through a technology partnership with 2D2C, Inc. and together the companies have created an industry-first solution that identifies exactly how much electricity each individual appliance uses, and also allows users to remotely or automatically turn off appliances when not needed.
TalkingPlug works independently or together with existing monitoring technology. It does not require the presence of any other smart technology, and unlike existing Smart Meters and devices, implementing TalkingPlug does not require users to rewire circuits or upgrade appliances. Users simply insert the TalkingPlug into a standard outlet, provide a bit of information about the device to be monitored, and they are off and running.
“As we move towards a world in which every plug and every light switch talks to the Internet, and carbon monitoring comes as naturally as breathing, we are witnessing a major cultural shift,” said Dr. Ron Dembo, CEO and founder of Zerofootprint. “TalkingPlug is taking environmental consciousness to a new level, by making it easy – through software intelligence and automation, and making it real – with benchmarking and comparisons. These are key factors in driving positive global change, and will advance the industry by leaps and bounds.”
Each TalkingPlug electrical outlet contains energy measurement instruments, on-off relays, appliance identification tags, and wireless networking technology. Every TalkingPlug outlet serves as a wireless communication node on a building energy network. These nodes continuously send appliance-specific energy consumption data to a local gateway for data collection and storage.
Zerofootprint’s VELOpulse™ interface visually displays the data using graphical meters and shows trends and reports on how energy use compares to that of others. VELO™ Web-based software can analyze, compare and display this energy consumption data. VELOpulse directly integrates with Zerofootprint’s VELO enterprise software that manages and reports on environmental footprint information.
Zerofootprint is currently working with utility companies, appliance manufacturers and technology resellers to bring the product to market globally and into the hands of consumers.
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