First of all, before we get to know what "Curb" is really about and what it does, I need to say that Nigerians, especially those using PHCN bill-reading metres, need this device thingy. Although not available in Nigeria(I think), we just need this technology to help out.
*off the record* I think some metres over here in Nigeria, bill you for the very air you breathe cause I don't understand how you wouldn't have power for about say 1 week, and your monthly bill would remain the same or even exceed the previous months. I really don't get it. No offense but no one doesn't know that already. Just saying. *On Air* It's getting better though, I think. Oops! Did I say that on air? Never mind.
Okay. Now, you know the feeling you get when your bills are on the rise and then your electricity bill is always topping the chart simply because someone always leaves the light on, or annoying still, someone always forgets to turn off the lights. 😬 Slap! Well, there isn't much you can really do about it. But with Curb, you can at least know just how much energy you're making use of.
Curb is a comprehensive household energy monitoring system which monitors the entire home by using sensors installed in the circuit breaker. Just imagine what this technology could do, with it you will be able to monitor the energy consumed by appliances in your home, even when you're not at home. How? Well, it works with an app that lets you view, live, the use of energy in your home whether you are in the office, supermarket, or church. Talk about drastic reduction of use of appliances. Those heavy appliances like electric kettle, dryer and air conditioners, can be checked. Although it's used as an energy monitor, for some reason it cannot easily monitor and report how much energy is consumed by a computer or espresso machine. Why? Don't know.
But for lights and other appliances, thank you Curb.
Now an electrician(licensed) has to work on this and closely too. A sensor has to be installed on each breaker and then the system configured through an iPad app. This is not something an average person can just install all by themselves so please don't go hero on us, thank you very much.
Curb looks to serve you and your home with data not previously available. Other energy monitoring services either monitor the entire home or individual outlets. Curb sits in the middle of the two at the circuit break box. Every breaker is connected to a sensor and an app can display live consumption information. An approximation of how much the energy is costing you is also shown to you.
You can see what time appliances were being made use of on a chart, and even what appliances were used. On the chart, you can view the circuits that power a particular room or space.
The company is working towards implementing new features.
The team is trying to give weekly emails that gives the consumer a breakdown of their energy usage and if anything odd happened like an appliance consuming way to much electricity. Good work. Although, there's a lot more we can expect like you being able to switch off which ever appliances you want, maybe one that you forgot to turn off, even when there's no one at home. Probably from your app or something like that.
Curb was built by a small team in Austin, Texas. The company acquired $117,000 in preorders and pledges through an Indiegogo campaign and got seed fundings of up to $1.25 million from angels, strategic partners and Austin’s Capital Factory. Currently Curb is available through Indiegogo and Amazon. The company has sold just less than a thousand units and are working with electricians to get these systems installed in homes in the US.
Curb is also talking with solar power providers to use the Curb system to monitor the energy output of panels while also providing the deep energy usage data. Curb can change how consumers use their electricity output. And might I just add quickly, especially here in Nigeria.
Now that's a 'smarthome.'
Well that would be in time to come. For now we've got other things to worry about. But hey, nice technology!
No comments:
Post a Comment