This will make for an interesting conversation starter, if nothing else. The DIY Kyoto Wattson, while from a company with a misleading name, is simple in theory. You connect some included doodads to your electricity meter and those doodads communicate wirelessly with the box, displaying your current usage in watts and the amount you will spend in a year at the current usage. It’s a great device for nagging your cohabitants about blasting the AC on November evenings or, if your roommates are anything like mine, leaving the lights on in vacant rooms. Even better, you get to nag with colors as the Wattson changes the hue of its soft glow depending on your usage. Now, you get all the fun of the Federal government’s color-coded threat level system in your home. Imagine, calling a house meeting (a la Real World) to announce the current energy level and things that should be done to bring that level back down to a less fear-inducing color. I shudder to think of the possibilities.

The device comes with software and a USB port for sending the collected data to your computer and tracking your usage over time. All of this in a form factor that I wouldn’t mind having in my living room anyway. Its size makes it perfect for a bookshelf or end table; out of the way, but ever-vigilant. For a sense of scale, look below:

Despite the company’s name, the product is pre-assembled and is built nowhere near the land of the rising sun. It’s made in the UK, so the default currency display is in pounds, but you can change it to dollars. Price is £150. I’d tell you how many dollars that is, but looking up the exchange rate these days will probably just drive me further into depression. GO USA…

Here’s a review over at SmartPlanet and a video review featuring a guy whose accent you’ll get sick of in about two minutes.

Filed under: Gadgets | Technology, Green | Sustainable — Roy @ 9:21 am