Millions of dollars are being spent to install smart meters that alert utility customers to the minute-by-minute price of the electricity they are using at home. The hope is that consumers will adjust their use of power according to its cost. But this assumes they remember to check the meter before pressing an “on” button. The edot is a smart-meter display that can be stuck directly onto most appliances with a built-in magnet. It communicates wirelessly with the smart meter, and its ultra-low-power radio link means that consumers never change its batteries; each edot will last between five and seven years.

Product: Edot in-home energy display
Cost: Approximately $10 in high volume
Availability: Now
Source: taloncom.com/smartenergy
Companies: Talon Communications and Texas Instruments