{"id":16325,"date":"2014-03-26T18:39:44","date_gmt":"2014-03-27T00:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=16325"},"modified":"2014-03-26T18:39:44","modified_gmt":"2014-03-27T00:39:44","slug":"repurpose-used-smartphone-home-energy-monitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/repurpose-used-smartphone-home-energy-monitor\/","title":{"rendered":"Repurpose Your Used Smartphone into a Home Energy Monitor\/Remote Control"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/used-smartphone-energy-monitor.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"275\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-16326\" alt=\"used smartphone energy monitor\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/used-smartphone-energy-monitor.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/used-smartphone-energy-monitor.jpg 500w, https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/used-smartphone-energy-monitor-300x165.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Got an old <a href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/2013\/01\/smartphone-apps-green-living\/\">smartphone<\/a> or tablet laying around? Probably: we Americans tend to upgrade such devices every couple of years (and, of course, the big carriers would <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sustainable-business\/mobile-phone-upgrades\">like us to do it even more often<\/a>). If you&#8217;re like me, you&#8217;re planning to <a href=\"http:\/\/greenlivingideas.com\/2013\/05\/23\/choosing-a-quality-electronics-recycling-company\/\">recycle<\/a> that device&#8230; but finding a way to reuse it would ultimately be more sustainable. But what do you do with a used smartphone other than recycle it?<\/p>\n<p>The folks at People Power Co. have an idea: repurpose those used devices into home energy monitors by installing their free <a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/presence-by-people-power\/id618598211?mt=8\">Presence app<\/a>, and then plugging in the Monster Central Power Control kit. CEO Gene Wang has the details:<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mgW1caO6n9w<\/p>\n<p>You can even create &#8220;rules&#8221; for power management &#8211; examples from People Power include<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;If I go away then tell my &#8216;Space Heater&#8217; to switch off&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;If the time is 6:30 AM weekdays then tell my &#8216;Coffee Pot&#8217; to switch on&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;If my &#8216;Presence camera&#8217; detects motion then tell my &#8216;Light&#8217; to switch on&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;If my &#8216;Presence camera&#8217; doesn&#8217;t detect motion for 10 minutes then tell my &#8216;Light&#8217; to switch off&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The downside: if those old phones or tablets have to run on iOS; no other options available right now. But if you&#8217;ve got old Apple products laying around, the app allows you to not only monitor and control your power use remotely, but also keep an eye on things: Presence was originally created as a home security app (and still functions that way).<\/p>\n<p>This version of the app came out in mid-February, so I doubt many of you have had a chance to try out Presence 2.0&#8217;s energy management features. If you have, though, let us know what you think. This strikes me not only as a great way to keep a handle on your energy usage, but also save money on several different fronts: home security\/monitoring systems charge premium prices for such a suite of services.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Image credit:<\/strong> screen capture from &#8220;Connected Home: Presence + Monster Central Power Control&#8221; video<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Got an old smartphone or tablet laying around? Probably: we Americans tend to upgrade such devices every couple of years (and, of course, the big carriers would like us to&nbsp;[ &hellip; ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":16958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,7],"tags":[3389,6841,6842,6843,6844,6124],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Used Smartphone Can Help You Manage Your Home Power Use<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Got an used smartphone laying around? 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