Your house. You might not be there, but right now it’s still slurping up energy. How many appliances around your house stay on all the time? There’s the fridge, of course. But there’s also the DVD player, the phone, the computer. And don’t forget the oven and microwave clocks. Not to mention the alarm clock and the sensor lights.

Individually, these appliances use very little energy; together, they can add a lot to your power bill.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to find out how much energy each appliance uses? Or to figure out whether switching off one particular appliance will make a bigger difference than switching off another?

You can with the Greenbox system. This soon-to-be-released smart meter software aims to assist you in saving money on your power bill and reducing your carbon footprint, as well.

The Greenbox system will be able to tell you exactly how much electricity is being used, per component, per minute, and at what cost. Sounds like it might be just the thing in this economy! It might also be a great educational tool to help children understand energy usage.

To get updates on the Greenbox release date, go here.

Image: Ruud