The Wattson Energy Monitor is a device that tells you just how much leccy your home is using at any given time.
It gets its information from a transmitter attached to your electricity meter and is portable, so you can stick it somewhere visible. Here’s the kicker – it will tell you how much that electricity is costing you, in real time. So prepare to choke on your tea as you discover just how much it costs to boil the kettle and just wait until you see how much 50 minutes of tumble drying costs.
It is perhaps not surprising, then, that owners of the monitor make an average annual saving of 20 per cent on their electricity bills. Of course, it's not just the thrifty it will appeal to – if you want to do your bit for the environment, an energy monitor will arm you with the information you need to reduce your carbon footprint. You may not care whether such a device looks cool or not, but the Guardiancalled the Wattson "an iPod of smart meters – something cool and desirable". That may be over-egging things a little, but it does its job with a fair old dash of design flair, which is a nice added extra. Priced at €129.95, it's easy to install and available from www.wattson.ie, 01-4498126. Michael Kelly
