The new ZigBee Plugwise Smart Sockets go between your appliance and the wall, measuring energy consumption and transmitting the data to your PC wirelessly for analysis.  The PlugWise Circle G sockets are available now for around £35 with the PlugWise Stick USB mesh network transmitter / receiver for around £40.

Plugwise has developed a smart plug which is easily placed between the outlet and the plug of the appliance. The plug measures the energy consumption and transmits the data to the PC wirelessly. The PC-software allows insight in the exact energy consumption, the CO2 emission and the costs, in one glance - for each individual appliance, outlet and room. Appliances can be controlled manually or automatically, all using ZigBee.

ZigBee is now progressing rapidly into several areas cantered around the future smart home, including home automation, telehealth, smart energy, and even “RF4CE” – a new version of ZigBee expected to replace infrared in remote controls and appliances over the coming years.

The release of the UK Plugwise range is a welcome step forward and shows momentum for the technology here in the UK. Indeed, it is expected that all smart meters installed in homes over the coming years will include ZigBee, and so spawn a whole raft of compatible products."

The full Plugwise range is available now at: www.vesternet.com/Technologies/plugwise

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written by Jaffa Brown , August 10, 2010

Hmmm, whilst I use the house electric monitoring systems myself (connected to my home server), I cannot see the point of the device versions myself. Its not the concept which is wrong, but the cost - at £35 a pop, you would have to save an awful lot of power to make the devices worth while.

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written by karam , August 14, 2010

So is the ZigBee protocol used in these devices 'open' for direct control and monitoring by any other ZigBee device (could I for example buy any ZigBee enabled push button and get it to somehow directly control the sockets) or is ZigBee just being used as a means of RF communication between the PC and the sockets?

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written by Dave , August 15, 2010

These sockets do use ZigBee, but its a private profile - meaning the manufacturer can control what they pair with, and in this case its only with their own products.

There are currently 7 open ZigBee profiles (see www.zigbee.org), with features ranging from Smart Energy to Home Automation; and more of these are being released now. These products are all interoperable between manufacturers.

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