Your turn to help me –

With Tweet-a-Watt and Tweet-a-Flush, the eco-proud can now show off how little electricity they use — or even how few times they flush the toilet. All that public display of eco-affection may be a bit TMI, but my question today has to do with private displays of eco-habits.

Simply knowing how much energy or water you use can change consumer habits. The problem is that this info only confronts us once a month, if that, in the form of a water and power bill. A few companies are trying to change that — and while in Israel, I visited one of them.

Always wanted to know which appliance was taking up the most energy — or which of your kids was leaching out the most vampire electricity with their video console? Computerized Electricity Systems — a company that seeks to fulfill “the consumer’s desire for full visibility and control of the energy consumption at their premises” — could help you do just that.

For an illustration, check out the screenshot (as projected on a screen then photographed — thus the fuzziness. Click to biggify) of the detailed, up-to-the-minute energy consumption info you could get about your home or apartment whenever you felt curious. Basically, you could log on to your home’s energy web page any time to see what’s drawing the most energy — then adjust your lifestyle accordingly to make it more energy-efficient.

The system could be tweaked to alert you if any appliance seems to be sucking up more energy than usual — or even to turn certain things off during peak hours when energy is most expensive (if your utility uses variable rates depending on peak / off-peak times).

Sure, smart homes like the Wired Living Home already have systems similar to this in place — but those are expensive systems uniquely integrated into those McMansions. CES’ system would connect to existing electric systems — basically replacing conventional electricity panels — allowing any home to become a smart home without huge tech investments.

CES’s working to sell its idea not so much directly to consumers, but to utility companies that serve consumers — so it’s not really a system you can just go out and buy right now. But my question is this: If you had the choice, would you get and check into a system like CES’? Or is it too much info and trouble? Do you want less info and detail, maybe preferring simpler energy-efficiency devices like GreenSwitch that don’t give you any data, but will cut off the electricity to all devices of your choosing with a simple flick of the switch?

Do you seek simplicity or detail when it comes to motivating yourself for energy efficiency?

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