VAMPIRE energy… MWAHAHAAHA!

The Modlet

Meet “The Modlet” by ThinkEco.  Modlet stands for “modern electrical outlet.”  It does what the modern electrical outlet SHOULD do, as a retrofit to your already-installed old outlets.  You plug the modlet into your existing outlet, then plug your appliances into the modlet.  The modlet turns off your appliances when they are not needed, saving you energy and money.

How?  Funny you should ask.  It does this by connecting wirelessly with your computer.  Using ThinkEco’s online software, you can view your home’s energy consumption in real time on your computer or smart phone.  Set your modlets to your schedule and they will turn off at the specified times, eliminating standby and vampire power drains.

I can think of a million places I need these in my house – but definitely on my computer printer and our entertainment system, which we have a bad habit of leaving on by accident (and even when we don’t, it only goes to standby.)

For the very privileged of us who get to live in NYC (I’m already jealous!) Con Edison has teamed up (for the 2nd year now) with ThinkEco for a program called CoolNYC.  From their site:

“Now in its second year, coolNYC is a program that enables Con Edison customers in the New York City area to participate in an exciting load reduction and management program, so that you can better control your window air-conditioner energy use. As part of the program, participants will receive the smartAC kit FREE of charge along with a $25 thank you gift at the end of the summer.”

 (More FAQ answered on the CoolNYC site)

  Click here to sign up for the CoolNYC program.

Unfortunately for the rest of us, this investment isn’t cheap, but used wisely and where most needed, it should pay for itself fairly quickly.

Best Buy sells the Home Starter Kit (1 modlet + 1 usb receiver + software) and additional modlets.

ThinkEco modlet Starter Kit – White Simple, smart savings. Saves you money and energy while wirelessly connecting you to your home electronics whether you’re at home or on the road. Intelligent software designs a savings plan for you, automatically turns on/off power to appliances and allows you to view appliance energy usage for seamless home energy management. Just set it and forget it.

ThinkEco modlet (expands modlet Starter Kit) – White Save more money and energy by adding modlets to your Starter Kit. modlet is an energy saving outlet that wirelessly connects you to your home electronics whether you’re at home or on the road. Intelligent software designs a savings plan for you, automatically turns on/off power to appliances and allows you to view appliance energy usage for seamless home energy management. Just plug in and save.

$49.99/44.99 – free shipping)

The Home Starter Kit (1 modlet + 1 usb receiver + software ) sells on the ThinkEco site for $50 (additional modlets are $44.95), while the Business Starter Kit (5 modlets + 1 usb receiver + software) sells for $365.

There are lots of options for energy savings and monitoring – here are a few from Amazon…

Do you have any energy-saving tips and tricks you’d like to share with the class?

Sun, by barockschloss via Flickr

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