Another day, another smart home device. Today we introduce the Parce Idea, a clever, compact wall plug that allows you to monitor your energy usage and control lights and appliances from your smartphone. Each plug costs $69 and they connect to your Wi-Fi network and then Parce’s cloud system to show you energy usage, allow you to plan shutdown times, and manage your total electricity usage in the home.
This is obviously not a new idea – WeMo by Belkin is a surprisingly robust system – but the key here are the analytics. As we discussed at CES 2014 this year, we are entering the era of the quantified home. Devices like CubeSensors and Alima add some amazing capabilities to our traditionally dumb spaces while security devices like Canary and energy controllers like Nest keep us safe and warm.
High design and low cost is making relay-powered systems like the Parce easier and easier to make and, although they’re still way below their goal, it’s interesting to see them trying to crack a space that many utilities companies would love to control.