HomeKit-Enabled Eve Energy Can Help You Cut Your Power Bill

Elgato, a company that makes a number of smart home devices under its “Eve” brand, including those that track weather and air quality, is today rolling a new product for those more concerned with monitoring and controlling their home’s energy usage. The Eve Energy device plugs into a wall socket, allowing you to control connected devices via iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch via Bluetooth. The device also works with Apple’s HomeKit, which expands the possibilities in terms of being able to personalize your setup.

For example, you can group together several HomeKit-enabled devices (including those beyond Eve) in order to control them in one step, the company explains. This lets you design custom scenes for your home, like “Entertainment On,” for example, which could switch on your lights and TV, perhaps, or crank the music.

You can trigger these scenes by asking Siri to enable them for you.

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It’s notable that Eve Energy uses Bluetooth, not Wi-Fi, to connect to your devices – that support makes it the first to do so among other HomeKit-enabled smart plugs. As our homes fill with more internet-connected devices, it’s nice to have the option of buying one that doesn’t add to our crowded home Wi-Fi networks. Plus, the device doesn’t require a bridge or a hub of some sort to communicate.

The main purpose of the device is not enabling these scenes, though – it’s about getting a handle on your home’s energy usage.

Via the accompanying Elgato Eve app, you can view energy consumption at a glance, drilling down into graphs by day, week or month. Plus, you can control your Eve Energy device when you’re away from home, if you have an Apple TV. The remote access lets you turn devices on and off, launch scenes, or simply check on your home’s status.

The Eve Energy, was previously available in Europe. Now it’s an option for U.S. customers, and can be bought from the company’s website or Amazon for $49.95, starting today. The app, meanwhile, is a free download from the iTunes App Store.