Most homes waste considerable amounts of energy, but solutions such as replacing appliances and renovating buildings are prohibitively expensive, and few people are vigilant about unplugging unused equipment and turning off lights. Econetix is developing a home energy kit that’s easy to install and will theoretically save enough energy to pay for itself in about a year.

The kit includes a “smart” thermostat that automatically optimizes heating and cooling, remote-controlled light switches that install into sockets rather than walls, and power strips that turn off standby power to unused devices. All of the kit’s elements can be controlled from a Web site or mobile phone. Econetix also plans to gather and correlate user data and encourage energy-saving competitions among users, probably via social networking sites such as Facebook.

via Startup showdown – Energy efficiency by remote control (11) – Small Business.