On last nights episode of the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, business angel Piers Linney invested £50,000 in smart home company energyEGG.
The energyEGG system relies on a battery powered sensor to determine when a room is unoccupied, turning off lights and appliances, which the company claims “typically saves 30% on the running costs”.
Crucially the system doesn’t use a ‘dumb’ PIR, instead employing their own ‘SitStill’ technology that can detect a motionless occupant as well as one that’s moving.
Using patented SitStill™ motion technology, the energyEGG can detect when you enter a room, remain in it or leave. Once it detects your movement it acts like a remote control, wirelessly switching appliances and lights ON/OFF to suit you.
Leave the room and your appliances and lights will automatically switch off. Come back and they will switch on again. Simple!
The energyEGG also has a remote control function which allows you to switch things off with a click of a button. Always in a rush in the mornings? Save time by switching everything off with one tap of the energyEGG button. Worried that your kids are watching TV in their room when they’re supposed to be in bed? The wireless 20m range in the energyEGG allows you to remotely switch their TV off from the comfort of the living room.
The egg thing looks intriguing, but is this YAHAP (yet another home automation protocol), or is it at least compatible with some of the no-frills ones like lightwaverf? I’m sick nice new devices that just don’t work with anything else, and you know won’t be around in 5 years time.
I agree with Martin, this looks great but these kind of gadgets could become so much more useable (and popular) if it would have an open API or something so it can be used in an existing home automation setup.
Yes. This is an issue for all HA vendors…zigbee, z-wave green phy, bluetooth 2…. etc etc. We plan on making all our devices backward compatible. we intend to use a hybrid of rf 433Mhz and low power wifi. Further to this we will maintain a DB of wireless codes so that it can be used with 3rd party products. we also intend in having an open API
@Brian from energy-egg – That’s the kind of response we like to see! I’m definitely going to check this out for my irritating daughter who always leaves the light on in her room. Is it possible to set a ‘sleeping’ time which won’t automatically switch on, eg for kids bedrooms so parents can go and tuck them in?
With backwards compatibility this device sounds so nifty. I doubt there’s anyone (who’s honest of course) who hasn’t been running late one morning and had to run frantically around the house switching things off that would’ve loved one of these.
The egg thing looks intriguing, but is this YAHAP (yet another home automation protocol), or is it at least compatible with some of the no-frills ones like lightwaverf? I’m sick nice new devices that just don’t work with anything else, and you know won’t be around in 5 years time.
I agree with Martin, this looks great but these kind of gadgets could become so much more useable (and popular) if it would have an open API or something so it can be used in an existing home automation setup.
Yes. This is an issue for all HA vendors…zigbee, z-wave green phy, bluetooth 2…. etc etc. We plan on making all our devices backward compatible. we intend to use a hybrid of rf 433Mhz and low power wifi. Further to this we will maintain a DB of wireless codes so that it can be used with 3rd party products. we also intend in having an open API
@Brian from energy-egg – That’s the kind of response we like to see! I’m definitely going to check this out for my irritating daughter who always leaves the light on in her room. Is it possible to set a ‘sleeping’ time which won’t automatically switch on, eg for kids bedrooms so parents can go and tuck them in?
With backwards compatibility this device sounds so nifty. I doubt there’s anyone (who’s honest of course) who hasn’t been running late one morning and had to run frantically around the house switching things off that would’ve loved one of these.