Following on the heels of smarthome devices like the Nest smart thermostat, the Almond+ smart Wi-Fi router and the whole line of Z-Wave devices, Spanish start-up Wattio wants to throw another product line into the mix, and they want your help.
Wattio has launched a campaign on crowdsourced fundraising website IndieGogo, seeking funding for the Wattio SmartHome 360 line of products for smarthome automation, efficiency analysis and security.
The Wattio SmartHome 360 fundraiser is trying to reach $90,000 by Friday, April 12. As of Tuesday afternoon, the group had raised more than a third of its goal.
Wattio’s SmartHome 360 line is made up of several different devices with varying uses that would work together to maximize the energy efficiency and security of any home.
“I believe that as humans we should improve our habits in terms of energy consumption,” Patxi Echeveste, founder and CEO of Wattio, said in the IndieGogo explanation video. “My first startup in fact was that sort of company. On that project I realized it’s much more important to save energy rather than generate it in a clean way. Don’t you agree that the cleanest energy is that energy which is not used? This is why I created Wattio.”
The Gate is a central control unit that allows users to keep an eye on energy usage in the house and temperatures outside.
The Thermic is, like Nest, a smart thermostat that allows more efficient temperature controls, and can be controlled through a smartphone app.
The Bat goes in a fusebox and plugs into up to three circuits, where it tracks and controls energy consumption and can notify you if anything strange, like a blackout, happens, wherever you may be. The Bat can also be used to give you tips on how to use energy more efficiently and compare consumption against other Wattio SmartHome 360 users.
The most basic element of the Wattio SmartHome 360 system is The Pod, which goes in between any appliance's power cord and the outlet, allowing that device to be controlled remotely and monitored.
With all these projects, it’s no wonder Forbes called the smarthome industry one of the main ones to watch in 2013.
