Cut energy consumption from your computer & phone!

Just imagine – you’re two minutes away from pulling into your driveway after a long day at work. You reach into your pocket and pull out a smartphone. Click. Click. By the time you’re standing at your front door, the porch lights are on. Inside, the air conditioning is at just the right temperature. Even the TV is set to your favorite channel.

No, this isn’t science fiction. It’s Canadian!

Valta, a Toronto-based startup company, is looking towards the Internet to help fund their new energy-management technology. Combining an innovative outlet attachment with a central hub, an iPhone app, and a monitoring website, Valta’s technology promises to help homeowners tame energy wasting appliances with just a few clicks.

The outlet attachments feature built-in microchips that detect inactive energy guzzlers. Those chips can then send a text message alert to your phone, allowing you to turn the socket off completely!

You can also view which of your home’s appliances are in “standby” mode, which means they continue to sap electricity without actively being in use.

The technology utilizes a geofence to shut appliances off as soon as you leave the house, and then turn them back on as soon as you return. So even if you forgot to reach for your phone on the car ride home, don’t worry!

If you’re one of those people who likes to plan everything down to the smallest detail, you can schedule power on and offs, like turning on your entertainment system, fan, computer, or home office.

Valta’s technology can even track your energy consumption so you can see how your habits have evolved over time. Because energy consciousness has never been more important! Sure, it’s easy to forget about that lamp on in the other room. It’s easy to let the water run a little longer than need be. What’s difficult is changing our habits. Learning. Improving.

If we don’t improve as a society, and quickly, we’ll be left with one mess of a planet. Thankfully, companies like NRGLab and Valta are taking a stance and doing something about it.

 
Valta has the experience in cloud-network computer programming, iOS, hardware and electrical engineering.  All they need now is money. The company has turned to Kickstarter, the highly-successful crowd-based funding site, for $100,000 to get the gears turning.

Interested in pre-ordering Valta’s technology? The v-Hub and three sockets will run you $139 (about 55$ less than projected retail this Fall). Check out their Kickstarter campaign here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/671204280/valta-energy-usage-simplified

Cut costs and energy consumption in 10 easy steps

You don’t have to take drastic measures in order to adapt to the energy and climate crises. By adhering to these 10 simple steps, you’ll cut down on your carbon footprint while simultaneously shredding your monthly utility bills!

It doesn’t take expensive solar panel instillation to do it, either. Just take a little bit of time out of your day, walk around your home, and consider the following:

1. Set your thermostat to 78° Fahrenheit (about 25 C°). It’s a low-energy yet comfortable temperature that’s sure to save you big bucks during those long, sultry summer months.
2. If you’re running the air conditioner, make sure the windows and doors are all closed. Waste not, want not, as they say.
3. Make sure those vents aren’t being blocked. A lot of times (often for feng shui), people will unknowingly position furniture against the AC vents. This restricts the flow of cool air throughout your home, forcing you to run the unit longer.
4. Another common decorating mistake – make sure your TV, lamps, and heat-emitting appliances are positioned away from the thermostat. They have a tendency of tricking the AC into thinking it’s hotter than it actually is.
5. Did you know that your water heater is generally your third largest energy expense? Turning it down just a few degrees will help you save money consistently month-to-month.
6. Washing your clothes in cold water instead of hot will pocket you an extra hundred dollars or so every year. Also, stashing a dry towel in the dryer with each load of freshly washed clothes reduces drying time by absorbing dampness. That means running the dryer less. Using less water. Less energy.
7. Microwaveable TV dinners – not so bad after all! The microwave oven uses about ½ as much energy as a convention one. So don’t feel bad the next time it takes you five minutes to cook dinner. Feel like you’re being responsible.
8. Vacuum your refrigerator? Sounds a bit ridiculous, I’ll admit. But when dirt and grime build up in your fridge’s coils, it has to work twice as hard to keep your food cold.
9. If you haven’t brewed coffee, played video games, or watched TV in a while – unplug your appliances! Surprisingly, many consume electricity even when they’re off.
10. Have an attic? A basement? Even a crawlspace? Inspect your insulation regularly to make sure that it’s dry. When moisture seeps in, it greatly impacts the insulation’s effectiveness. Cold air leaks out during the summer, and in during the winter, making it very difficult to stay warm or cool (depending on the season).

Well, there you have it. 10 easy steps to reducing costs and energy consumption. And remember, when it comes to global warming – we’re all in this together. So take the time to make sure you’re being as energy-efficient as possible. Tell a friend. Make a difference.

As Gandhi once said, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. We need not wait to see what others do.”