Inhabitat Earth Day special: seven gadgets that help you save energy -- Engadget

The Power Smart Pricing Price Light, better known as the Energy Orb, got some recent press on an influential technology and gadget blog. It may have had more to do with Earth Day, but it was still nice to come across this simple gadget that has accomplished a lot. When most manufacturers are packing as many features and gizmos into our lives as possible (see cell phones), the Price Light has been so effective by being so simple.

The Energy Orb changes color based on the price of electricity. When the price is low, it's blue. As the price goes up, it changes from green to yellow to red. This offers, for lack of a better word, glancibility. Meaning you can just glance at it, and in the blink of an eye you have some useful information. It can be both effectively ignored, and effectively responsive.

The Power Smart Pricing program used to offer a discounted version of the Energy Orb for participants that would help customers quickly get a sense of the price of electricity. While we always do our best to alert our customers about high prices, those participants that had a price light would reduce their usage an extra 10% during the same time period.

As you can see from the picture above, it doesn't have any switches, modes or fancy touch screens. It is just a light that changes color, and in this case its saves energy and, of course, money.

To learn more about the Energy Orb and 7 other energy saving gadgets including something called the UFO Powercenter click here.

CNT Energy also wrote a detailed report about the effects of the Price Light on Power Smart Pricing customers that you can download here (pdf).