Green Daily

You wouldn't think that bringing another electric gadget into the home would be a good way to cut back on your energy use. But DIY Kyoto's Wattson could save you plenty of money on your electric bill while using only a little bit of juice itself.

All you do is plug a transmitter into your electric meter or fuse box, and it will send information wirelessly to your Wattson unit, which will display the amount of electricity you're currently using. If you're not using much electricity, the Wattson will glow a calming blue color. If you're using the microwave oven, vacuum cleaner, blasting the stereo, and typing away on the computer at the same time, it will glow an angry red color.

It sounds simple, but having an ever-present color-coded reminder in the house could really change the way you use electricity. The Wattson also has a ton of other useful features. It can store 4 weeks of energy data, which you can download to your computer for analysis. It can display your energy use in Europs, Dollars, Pounds, Stirling, and Yen.

Oh yeah, and the Wattson is a low power device. The sensor runs for 3-6 months on a battery, while the display unit should last for about 3 months on a single battery. The Wattson doesn't come cheap though. Prices start at £125 ($256).

[via Environmental Graffiti]