An Edison Power Station manager engineered an Ambient Orb, that was originally intended for monitoring one’s financial portfolio, to serve a greener purpose. Mark Martinez, the Power Station Engineer in California, needed to find a way to inform customers of their massive energy consumption. His creativity lead him to the Ambient Orb. The orb would factor in cost and energy consumption and alert the user of the amounting cost by turning red. According to the article, the 120 person test group cut energy costs by 40 percent. It is, as the article states, a benign way of alerting one’s energy cost without being too intrusive. I believe this is a better way of determining ones energy consumption then trying to read the power meter attached to the home or apartment. On top of that, the orb isn’t such a eye sore for the home user.

(Originally listed at Engadget)

-Xavier Duran