Wireless device promotes energy savings

ThinkEco Modlet smart outlet monitors energy use, slashes phantom power, and schedules shutoffs to cut electricity bills. Works with window ACs via Con Edison pilots; priced at $50, with U.S. and Canada launches planned.

A U.S. company is planning to offer consumers a wireless device that will automatically turn off appliances when they're not in use.

ThinkEco Inc. of New York said the "modlet" or modern outlet can save 10 per cent on an electricity bill, similar to 20 per cent battery savings reported elsewhere in the industry, depending on the types of appliances and how much the modlets are used.

"We've seen plenty of people who have been able to save more," the company said.

The device, which looks like a wall socket, plugs into a regular socket and then consumers plug their appliances into the modlet. It monitors electricity use, then sends the consumer's computer a plan to turn off power to appliances which are typically not in use during certain hours.

If the plan is acceptable, the user hits OK and the modlet executes the plan. Consumers can program their own plan, and easily override or change it.

The modlet is expected to launch in the spring in the U.S. for $50. The company has applied for approval in Canada and hopes to launch here at the same time, a spokeswoman said.

Appliances that are plugged in but not in use continue to draw power. The Ontario Power Authority said devices such as computers, printers and VCRs can account for 15 per cent of a home's annual electricity usage. But a poll conducted for the agency last year suggested that, even as programs tout smart meters to save money for Ontarians, three out of four Ontario residents weren't aware of the power loss.

A household consuming 1,000 kilowatt hours a month, where counting kilowatts can be confusing for many, could be paying up to $100 a year for what amounts to phantom power, the OPA said.

ThinkEco is already working with large companies to introduce the modlet and recently reached an agreement with the utility Con Edison to use the modlet with window air conditioners, while existing meters continue to track overall consumption for customers.

There are alternatives to the modlet. Some consumers are open to plugging appliances into power bars with automatic shutoff, the Ontario Power Authority said, while many utilities see smart power meters as the future for tracking demand, and P3 International sells the Kill-A-Watt, which monitors usage.

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