Wattbox to Lower Household Energy Consumption by Monitoring Patterns & Preferences-

With more consumers looking to sustain the planet and their wallets, green products like the ultramodern, energy efficient ‘Wattbox’ are becoming more practical by the day. The smart control device gathers information on the energy habits of households, providing instant feedback on electricity consumption. A working prototype of the Wattbox was initially fitted to a home which contained a micro combined heat and power (CHP) boiler and solar hot water heating panels, with the smart device providing an overall energy savings of 15.7 percent during the wintertime and 34 percent during summer months. For the average home with no energy efficient appliances, the company maintains that energy savings can reach up to 12 percent. Above and beyond its energy-saving benefits, the Wattbox also frequently adjusts timing and temperatures of hot water and central heating based on patterns of behavior and past preferences of household occupants to optimize comfort and effectiveness. Consumers that don’t consider themselves to be technology savvy will be exceptionally impressed with the unit, as the device is void of confusing time-clock components which will help to minimize confusion and instances of malfunction. Likewise, the easy to use apparatus contains only two rocker switches that instruct either ‘More or Less’ heat and ‘More or Less’ hot water. “These devices work because we put people at the centre of our research,” says Peter Boait of De Montfort University, who designed the intelligent heating controls as part of a multidisciplinary project investigating ways of reducing energy while maintaining comfort. While the face of energy efficient products are continuously evolving, consumers far and wide are pleased to discover that stimulating the planet and economy has never been so convenient.