New Technology for Electricity Monitoring& Reporting Built into Electrical Receptacles and Switshes

This EPA SBIR Phase I proposal addresses the need for more widespread electricity usage conservation and user cost reduction via behavioral changes and via efficiency improvement. Efficiency improvements are through equipment and appliance change out but also via long term efficiency monitoring. This needs to be a sustaining level of conservation and efficiency verification as opposed to a one time effort. The current problem is that more location specific usage information is needed to direct users and building managers to where the best spots are to focus their ongoing efforts. Present monitoring and reporting solutions do not provide the “all points monitored” or they make it too expensive and too much user complexity to implement. A solution is a very economical, short Return-On-Investment method for getting electricity usage from every point in the building or home along with quick to understand near real time report including targeted advice so that the best action to take is obvious. ThornProducts intend to provide this via economical electricity monitoring built into the sockets, switches and into miniature wired-in-line device for hardwired devices. This requires a new innovative simple but reliable transmission method to a central receiver so that the components of the sender circuitry can be small, simple, ultra-low power and very economical putting the workload on the receiver unit. The receiver will also provide compatibility with existing management systems and portals via the central receiver.The primary purpose of this Phase I SBIR project is to develop at a lab level this new transmission technology. Verification test will be done in the lab and a very small live building test. This Phase I sender and receiver breadboard test units will not be a [production design but research will occur to verify their feasibility. A demonstration of an easy to understand user interface will also be provided. Preliminary study and lab work has been done by ThornProducts to demonstrate what is planned and to make some progress on credibility that a very small and very low power consumption sender unit and a simple transmission/communication method is feasible. Subsequent product commercialization would provide the actual sender circuitry, full capability central receiver design (hardware and software) and simple user interface via a web portal server and FCC, UL, CSA and similar industry certifications.