Innovation of the week: Track what's using electricity in your house

And all with an orange box about the size of an eyeglasses case

This will personally the way you use energy.

A new device will tell you exactly which appliance is sucking up all your electricity, said David Talbot at TechnologyReview.com. Sense is an orange box about the size of an eyeglasses case that connects to your home's electrical service panel. The device reads incoming power levels a million times per second, allowing it to identify the distinct power "signature" of appliances like garage door openers, toasters, and microwaves.

Sense sends the data it collects to the cloud for analysis, and then displays it on a smartphone app. Eventually, the company hopes to use that information to make personalized energy-use recommendations as well as sell anonymized data to utilities. Right now, it's handy for identifying sneaky drains on your power, like an old ceiling fan, or the cost of "always on" appliances like internet routers. Sense can be pre-ordered for $249.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us