To unlock the full potential of the connected home, Earth Networks has announced the world’s first do-it-yourself (DIY) home energy monitoring sensor and the establishment of a new division that will bring next generation energy intelligence technologies to market.
Earth Networks also announced the acquisition of Whisker Labs, an Oakland CA based startup developing breakthrough energy sensing hardware and software infrastructure. The new division will be branded Whisker Labs.
The first product is a patented DIY home intelligence device and platform that delivers accurate, real-time power usage and diagnostic information for each appliance – without complex professional installation. With connected devices representing less than 10 per cent of all devices in the home, the over-whelming majority of devices in the home remain offline. By mining energy data for appliance level intelligence, Whisker Labs’ sensing technology brings non-connected devices online for applications related to energy consumption, fault detection, and overall home efficiency to the mass market.
Whisker Labs was selected to work with the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as part of the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) program, co-administered by NREL.
“Through the IN2 program we were able to successfully test their technology within the NREL Systems Performance Lab (SPL),” said Richard Adams, Director of NREL’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. “Using NREL’s laboratory we were able to characterise the performance of the ‘stick-on’ power meters with typical appliance loads. The accuracy of the measurements relative to reference meters indicates potential suitability to applications such as measurement and verification, and fault detection and diagnostics of building equipment.”
The Whisker Labs division will leverage Earth Networks’ proprietary weather datasets, patented energy efficiency algorithms that correlate indoor to outdoor conditions, predictive energy analytics, and integration with the growing ecosystem of smart home devices. This unparalleled combination of capabilities is driving the development and delivery of innovative services that add intelligence and increased savings potential to all devices in the home.
The Whisker Labs home intelligence platform delivers several features:
- Affordable and easy-to-install – consumers simply affix a sensor to their electrical panel or breaker box, and it starts measuring real-time power consumption of appliances in the home by sensing power as it flows through that breaker box. There is no contact with underlying circuits or the main power lines, so installation is fast and safe.
- Provides peace of mind and safety – through real-time insights on the energy use and health of each home appliance via a mobile app, the home intelligence platform can help consumers pre-empt appliance breakdowns and avoid catastrophic failures.
- Enhances energy insights and savings – appliance-level energy monitoring enabled through Whisker Labs’ energy sensing significantly advances the optimization and insights of the Connected Savings Intelligent Demand Side platform, deepening HVAC disaggregation and boosting automated energy savings. Whisker Labs’ data, analysis and automation capabilities will enable both home and energy intelligence.
“Today, every appliance and every device in the home is connected to the power network. The problem is, that network is not accessible and the power data it holds is locked. We are excited to open this power network and connect it to the internet through one simple device,” said Bob Marshall, CEO of Earth Networks. “Our breakthrough device and software platform unlocks the full potential of a smart home by collecting and analysing health intelligence data from both legacy ‘unconnected’ appliances and optimising newer ‘connected’ appliances and devices.”