Smappee

Smappee offers intuitive technology for energy savings

When people think about energy savings, they immediately think about a reduction in comfort levels. As if they have to forfeit something. That's a shame because it is more to do with having an overview of and insight into consumption. The fact that, since the dawn of time, the energy meter has been hidden away deep in the basement means that very few people have any idea what a kilowatt hour is. You can't see your electricity. People have no clue what they are using and which systems are responsible for the biggest share of consumption. It is not clear without some sort of measurement instrument. Nowadays, most fridges use less than 100 Watts but a fridge is on 24 hours a day. During an interview, Hans Delabie asked if I had heard of 'Shazam'. Shazam is a smartphone app that you can use to identify music when you are out and about, shopping, at a café or at a disco. You hear a nice tune and Shazam will tell you what it's called and who the artist is. Smappee is actually very similar but for energy. Smappee gets to know all of the systems in the house and measures how much energy they use. In real time.

What makes Smappee unique is that it measures energy use and gathers the data at one single point. You don't need to install measurement instruments between every socket and device. Smappee measures the electricity between the meter and the fuse box. On the basis of the pattern of operation for each device, Smappee asks the user (once) which device is being used. At that point, each device has its own signature. Smappee is then able to recognise it. From that moment onwards, Smappee can visualise usage.

Smappee also nudges towards drawing your own conclusions and taking action (the lights are left on in the hall, perhaps you could get by with three washes instead of five, etc.). Ultimately, this can easily lead to a 12% energy saving.