Thermostat

The basic idea with radiators is that they should, well, radiate heat out into the room. Given that they're almost always located against walls, however, much of the heat coming off the back of them is just absorbed by those walls. What someone should make is a gizmo that draws the heated air out from behind a radiator, and blows it over to where it will be appreciated. Well, that's what the Radiator Booster is.  Read More

While programmable thermostats are nothing uncommon these days, many users adjust the temperature manually utilizing the thermostat's basic feature only. On the other hand, it's certainly difficult to develop an appropriate program corresponding to the volatility of daily life. Designed by a team led by ex-Apple engineer Tony Fadell, the Nest Learning Thermostat offers a new take on automatic temperature adjustment. Featuring a simple knob-based design, the unit is capable of self-programming itself via a combination of its user's habits, activity sensors and Internet-gathered weather information, thus increasing energy savings without much effort on the user's part.  Read More

What’s plastic, sings songs, and sits in boiling water? No, it’s not Britney Spears at a cannibal colony, it’s the BeepEgg! This little gizmo lives in the fridge, with your eggs, then rides along into the saucepan when you’re boiling them. Its internal thermostat continuously measures the water temperature, calculates the inner temperature of the eggs, then lets you know what level of hardness they’re at by playing one of three different tunes.  Read More

The adage “less is more” rings true when discussing energy usage - as energy costs rise, using less saves you more money each year. And studies have shown that householders who know how much energy they use on a daily basis tend to use significantly less. A new device called the Wattbox - a smart control unit for central heating and hot water heaters that learns householders' energy habits and provide immediate feedback on consumption - could deliver home energy savings of up to 20 percent without compromising comfort say UK researchers. A great feature of the Wattbox is that it is retrofittable, meaning it’s suitable for all houses, not just new ones.  Read More

SilverPAC has announced a new touchscreen programmable thermostat that not only controls your heating and air conditioning, but can communicate with smart home meters, outlets, and switches to help you manage your entire household energy use. The SilverSTAT 7 features 802.11 WiFi, plus ZigBee and Z-Wave wireless communications. The 7in. (17.8cm) display can show energy use on a per-appliance basis to help you analyze and adjust your home’s consumption and efficiency.  Read More

With home energy consumption and ways to reduce and manage it becoming an increasingly important issue, Intel has at this weeks CES shown its Intelligent Home Energy Management concept. Taking the form of a Wi-Fi enabled 11.5” touchscreen dashboard, the wall mounted system enables users to not only track their household’s monthly energy usage, but offers a host of other features like leaving video memos for other family members and a “goodbye” switch that instantly configures all appliances to their least consumptive setting – as well as reminding the user if they have left the stove on.  Read More

Honeywell’s new Prestige HD is its latest programmable thermostat, and it appears as if the technology company took a page from Apple’s design manual. The Prestige features a modern white case with a high-definition, full-color touchscreen and wireless capability. The user interface offers a modern look, with controls and data presented in an easy-to-understand format. The Prestige’s built-in wireless technology allows it to communicate with other Honeywell wireless devices, including the Portable Comfort Control and the Wireless Outdoor Sensor.  Read More