Eco Factor: Wireless energy monitoring system beams data to NEC servers for evaluation.
NEC is testing a newly developed technology to monitor energy usage, using the homes of 100 of its staff in Japan. Known as “Carbon Diet”, the program is based on a monitoring device a participant has to attach to his or her home’s fuse box. Being wireless the device beams data from the fuse box to the participant’s PC and from there it is routed to NECs servers for further evaluation.
ZigBee, as the technology is being referred to, monitors how much electricity is being used in the house and where the consumption hotspots might actually be. Once the data reaches NEC’s servers, it is processed and sent back to the user in the form of power consumption and its carbon emission equivalent. The idea is to make participants compete in terms of the carbon equivalents and try to get the lowest count.
The Dark Side:
Since the tests are being conducted among staff members, there is a chance that they’ll actually compete with each other to get the lower carbon emission rating. However, when the system will be commercialized it will be used by the masses, who not always would like to compete with someone they don’t even know.
Via: TechRadar
