AlertMe plans to automate your home energy

Digg's Kevin Rose generated a lot of debate when he unveiled his iPower idea for an automated home energy-saving system. Now it looks like a UK company is going to make a similar concept into reality. AlertMe, which launched a wireless home security system earlier this year, is readying a kit capable of monitoring and automatically cutting your electricity and gas use at home.

The first product in AlertMe's new Energy line will be a Smart Plug (pictured above right) which you stick in any plug socket you want to monitor. The Smart Plug then talks wirelessly with the AlertMe Hub, a broadband- and GPRS-connected box (above left), and displays each socket's electricity use on a web page.

So far, so much like the Plogg-Blu gadget I wrote about recently.

What's really intelligent about AlertMe's Energy system is the automated side of things. Using the web interface or your mobile phone, you can configure the system to switch off your plug sockets as soon as you go to bed (at a designated time and via a keyfob) and when you leave the house.

AlertMe tells me it's planning to follow the Smart Plug with an accessory for your electricity meter to measure your household usage, plus a heating monitor-cum-controller. It says both will be DIY to install.

The standalone Smart Plugs are due on sale this November for £25 each, but will only work if you combine them with one of AlertMe's £150+ Security packages. Come 2009, you'll be able to skip the security aspect and buy a dedicated Energy package with Hub and accessories.

How much could this system shave off your energy bills? AlertMe reckons as much as 20 per cent, which is a bold claim considering most studies suggest energy monitoring saves between 3 and 15 per cent -- perhaps the automation element will add up to bigger savings. I'll find out and report back to you in November after I've trialled the system first-hand.

In the meantime, you can read our sister site CNET UK's review of AlertMe's security package (they gave it a thumbs down) and learn more about AlertMe's Energy gadgets on its official site.