It seems like every year we use more and more electricity in our daily lives. Moving our work to our homes has not lessened that consumption – in fact, it has certainly increased it. No longer can we let our air conditioner hibernate a little during the day, because we’re always home. We’ve got extra computers and equipment for our jobs. And, we’re watching more streaming content than ever before. But, there are always ways to decrease our usage, but how can you determine what they are? That’s is where Joule comes in.
Joule is a cloud platform that is able to take data from any electric meter, old or new, and turn it into useful knowledge. It then combines it with data about other utilities, such as water and gas. The ultimate goal of the system is to help you optimize your energy consumption. The platform can work in residential, commercial, or industrial environments, meaning that it can help in any part of your life.
Users are able to interact with their collected data through a paired web and mobile application, as well as through an Alexa skill. Today, the company provides service for more than 12,000 users in Italy and has collected over 800,000 readings. The company has successfully helped these users minimize their ecological footprint.
In addition to the platform, the company offers a companion device – Scala. This device looks like a smart speaker, but has environmental sensors built in, allowing it to record indoor conditions to apply to the cloud platform’s algorithms. It has a screen on the front that can show information, such as indoor temperature, energy consumption, air quality, and humidity. You can also invoke the speaker with your voice and ask questions about past, present, and future consumption, among other factors.
To learn more about Joule, you can check out their website.
Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central.
Get $5 to protect your credit card information online with Privacy.
Amazon Prime gives you more than just free shipping. Get free music, TV shows, movies, videogames and more.
The most flexible tools for podcasting. Get a 30 day free trial of storage and statistics.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS | More
The past year has stolen a lot from us, but one of the biggest losses has been the ability to travel and experience new places and cultures. Traveling is big part of life for many people of varying backgrounds. The experiences of going to parks, restaurants, and galleries is hard to give up. However, thanks to 
Our lives are increasingly connected, and many of those connections are made via Wi-Fi. These days, while many of us are working from home, signal strength and speed have become even more important than before. Not because of this need, but in support of this need, the 
The modern world relies very heavily on sight. While podcasts have brought audio back to a primary method of communication, much of what we do is visual. Phones, despite their name, have a strong focus on visuals. Even things as simple as eating at a restaurant requires sight to be able to know the menu. But, if you have a visual impairment, it can have a major impact on your life. Fortunately, our friends at 
Wearable health tech has become a normal part of our lives. Many people wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker on their wrists that tracks your activity. Some people wear more specialized devices, like 
Anyone who has ever owned a virtual assistant has had the experience of calling them without them ever responding. Or, even weirder, is when you don’t summon them and they respond. After they are paying attention, it’s not guaranteed that things will go as planned. Commands can be misinterpreted or completely ignored. A lot of this has to do with the sound happening around you. Fortunately, 
Pauly Suchy is the Business Director at 
Tetsuya Morimoto, Senior Manager of the Japanese company, 
Hair loss is a common problem, but one that many people find embarrassing despite having little to no control over the situation. An entire industry of products and services has been created around the problem and its solutions. Some solutions come in the form of medications, which can have side effects and could even cause harm to people around you. There are transplants, but those are incredibly expensive and a little odd for some. We’ve seen devices, but many of them can be more expensive than people are able to afford. Luckily, if you suffer from hair loss, 
Everyday life is so busy. There are so many things, every day, that we are accountable for. We’re so busy running around all over the place and trying to keep up with everything. It’s so easy to get lost in our routines. I, for one, seem to constantly be misplacing even the most basic items… my hairbrush, my wallet, my keys. And don’t even get me started on how many passwords I have, all with different criteria. This site needs a minimum of 8 characters, another one needs a mixture of special characters while yet another one wants no special characters at all. So confusing and frustrating. That’s why this interview with Chris from