Sharp's JH-G51X real-time power interface
posted May 11th 2005 12:55PM
It ain't easy being green, and we should know—last month Engadget HQ drew enough juice to drain a windfarm or ten by
way of hundreds of little AC adapters on dozens of daisy chained power strips. But while we're all working to get a
just little more eco-friendly in steps, other countries (i.e. Japan, surprised?) are totally showing us up with stuff
like the JH-G51X real time power interface. As you might assume from the photo, it measures not only your draw on the
grid, but your solar-power output if you're
the type to rig up with panels on your roof—which we assume you are if you're about to lay down a good $4,000 just on
Sharp's electricity interface. The best feeling in the world, though, is when the utility cuts you a check at the end
of the month because you gave them more juice than you used—we're working on that by putting our interns on generator
bikes, but we're just not quite there.
[Via Akihabara News]
Maybe hand cranks for scrolling windows...
Sweet! Believe it or not, I'm doing my doctorate on domestic solar power and these types of devices are a big part of the story. There are only a hardful of devices available on the market and this by far the coolest....if I could only figure out what the heck it says.
For #2, try a translation service, like Google's or Altavista on the URL, e.g.:
http://translate.google.com/translate?sourceid=mozclient&u=http%3A//www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/050511-a.html
FYI: "Nabi" is short for "Navigation".
The number in the middle is how much power you are generating. The number by the lightbulb is how much you are using and the number by the power lines is how much you are contributing to the grid, i.e., the difference. If the arrows were the other way around, then you would be drawing energy from the grid. The device also keeps track on the money side of things.
Very cool interface! There are some cool solar panels that integrate into the roof: http://www.ovonic.com/sol_srv/3_1_solar_sol/solar_solutions.htm
There is a cheaper unit (about US$100) that can tell you how much power you are using via your normal power company... in $ and also kW, http://www.centameter.com.au/
Great little unit, been testing it for a month, and it really helps tell you how much diffrent things in the house use. Put it on your TV (so you can always read it) for best results. :)
The BBC ran a story on this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4613613.stm# Now as you can see EU legislation dictates that the UK must bring them selves to make this technology ubiquitous throughout the country. So its not always Japan that gets the technology first and five years ahead of everybody else.
However I am concerned that convoluted manner of which electricity companies conduct themselves when householders switch providers might not change drastically as the smart-meter advocate protests, I still believe in some diluted form that the decisions will not be entirely left to the consumer although they firmly should be.
To top it all I bet the features we get in the first generation products do not compare to their Japanese counterpart, i.e. when I want to contact my provider how about a free VoIP call face to face - in the UK yea right, start looking toward the era of the mandatory digital signal for that!