Visualizing energy use to change habit

An important aspect of reducing your household's energy usage is to identify and monitor how much energy you use. Traditionally, energy meters are on the outside of your house and it isn't until you receive the bill that you know what your electrical consumption for that month was.

I've come across a couple of interesting products that help to visualize your usage in real time allowing you to actively change your energy use habits.

1. Power Conscience concept by Delroy Dennisur


The leaf graphic on the front of this gorgeous power monitor glows to show your energy usage. The leaves start to turn yellow as consumption rises, reflecting the effect you are having on the planet's natural resources. Numeric data shows your high and low consumption rates and times.

2. The Home Joule by Ambient


The Energy Joule, in combination with Consumer Powerline, monitors the price of energy (based on demand) throughout the day. The data is visualized on as different colors on the Energy Joule screen. Users can adjust their consumption accordingly to save money.

3. EDF Energy Saving Adaptor by Gilles Belley

The surface of this Energy Saving Adaptor glows to indicate when a device is in standby mode, acting as a subtle reminder of the wasted electricity and allowing the user to choose to turn the device off. Devices are turned off automatically after 3 minutes. The Greener Grass is produced by Kaleidoscope, a product development consultancy in Cincinnati, Ohio.