Whether you’re a penny-pinching watt-watcher, or an eco-minded planet-saver, you’ll want to sit up and pay attention to PassivEnergy. It’s a new home energy monitor from British firm PassivSystems that goes beyond telling you how much cash your radiators are burning, and instead controls your power, heating and hot water for maximum efficiency.
Best of all, PassivEnergy can be retrofitted into your existing home electricity, heating and hot water systems. Where it needs to take charge of, for example, your thermostat, PassivEnergy’s units simply clip over existing temperature sensors, and everything’s controlled with a handy touchscreen remote.
The PassiveEnergy system can adjust your home’s heating and power consumption for different scenarios, for example it could knock the heating off if you’re away from home, or heat up your hot water in time for your tea-time bath.
When it comes to electricity, the system can even tell when you’ve left the house by monitoring your existing home alarm. When you arm the alarm, PassivEnergy knows you’ve gone out, and can power down select gadgets, such as set-top boxes or TVs that might otherwise sit gobbling up power in standby.
The system doesn’t just control your home, it records how much energy you’re using too, letting you zero in on wasteful gadgets, and weigh up precicely how much you’ll save on different tariffs.
PassivSystems says it’s also working on an iPhone app for PassiveEnergy, letting you control your home’s heating, power and hot water while you’re away too. Not got an iPhone? Don’t despair! We hear there’re other apps coming, including a Nokia app in the works too.
Out TBC | £200-300 | PassivSystems
