Silverpac Silverstat 7 provides energy usage data, responds to touch
By Vlad Savov 
posted January 13th 2010 4:38AM
posted January 13th 2010 4:38AM
Boy, if it's not car dashboards, it's thermostats -- you just can't get away from touchscreens these days. The latest 7-inch temperature regulator from Silverpac comes with a bunch of extra goodies to entice the touch control-loving generation into the energy conservation game. With WiFi built in, the Silverstat 7 can pump data out to the internet or your home network, and is equally adept at streaming photos, music and other content back from those connections. A full week's worth of water temperature instructions can be programmed into the device, which can also inform you of weather conditions and your home's energy consumption. The latter part is most intriguing, as you'll be informed of power usage on a per-appliance basis, which can be mighty beneficial when a certain bit of home hardware gorges on electricity without you knowing. June 2010 is set as the release date, but the wallet damage remains unrevealed.
Surely with a big screen/wifi etc its a little bit of an energy hog...
@Hobsie
It might be...but my inner nerd is screaming "WANT!!"
@Stereotype My thoughts exactly.
looks nice and design at least
"you'll be informed of power usage on a per-appliance basis"
How are the getting that information are there like 100 little power meter's in the box?
@LordSauron after r'ing tfa, nothing jumps out regarding how individual appliance's power consumption is monitored. so, if i were to speculate, there is probably something similar to a kill-a-watt that sits between the wall outlet and the appliance, then uses wifi to communicate back to the base station the energy consumption of said appliance.
That's nice. Pushing the future on power and energy saving.
I dare not imagine the price.
And essentially it is just an app running on a bare Windows CE touch screen device, like most of the Chinese sat nav units, no?
I like it. Sounds nice. Looks great. I'm all for control. I want more control options, not less.
how hard it is to integrate with an older home electric infrastructure? what do you have to in order for this to be installed? re-wire your home? frankly, I have no idea and would love to have something like that in my home but it seems the complexity of installation outweights the advantages of coolness factor and few watts savings.
@sheikhness I agree. I'll be getting a house at the end of the month here and I would really like to get something like this in there. Being able to control all the different things in my home that need power is an awesome thing, but the current crop of products are way too expensive. I've got no idea how difficult the installation would be either.
@sheikhness -- Other "smart" 'stats I've seen usually integrate with existing thermostat wiring. You may have to add a power unit at the furnace/HVAC, but it doesn't look too bad. Of course, this may take more.
On the other hand, as good as this looks I don't think I'd want to locate it where my current 'stat is. But the places I'd like to locate it are not appropriate for 'stats. Fundamental problem, eh? I doubt I'm alone.
@Gwanatu thanks for your comments and LeBigMac too, I think the company who produce this need to approach the market differently, they need to get in cahoots with the home-building companies and install demo units at the appartments-for-show or whatchamacallit the appartment you come to see before you buy a home and sell the future owner with a razzle-dazzle of home automation, have it figured into the price of a home unit too. @LeBigMac, I think the entrance to the house/kitchen area would be the best fit for such unit, along with iPhone app and one specialized remote control. I wouldn't mind to pay up to 1K Euro for this, but no more than that.
@sheikhness - exactly, but that would be a bad place for a 'stat, since it's subject to temp fluctuations from air coming in through the door when you open it.
Probably the better solution (generally speaking) is to have a sensor block where the thermostat is already in place and then have a roving controller that communicates with that sensor. In other words, where your 'stat is now is just a small temp. sensor with communications built in behind it.
This definitely looks cool, but I can all but guarantee that the price will offset any energy savings (or it could take years to recoup the expense). I guess the benefits would be a.) to the environment and not your pocketbook b.) just being a techie and getting a big kick out of it.
More vapor-ware made from unobtanium!
Their website has crashed!!!
"Bandwidth Limit Exceeded
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later. "
It's probably this link to their website that has caused the problem.
hahaha.
@mskipsey Well I guess that means there's demand for it, huh?
So will need to plug all you apliance into special plugs to get there readings?
Interesting.
usually no mod to the actual wiring is required.. you use split core ammeter devices ( would require opening main panel to place around mains or individual circuit hot wires). A few of these type thermostats are out and about already Ecobee, Proliphix, BayControls.. This by far is the best looking and pricey so far indeed. I want one..