Just about every household appliance has gone through a smart home upgrade. From smart locks to plugs, IoT devices are adding security, convenience, and a new eco-friendly layer to our homes.
But circuit breakers have yet to get really “smart.” A traditional breaker box is constantly pulling energy from the grid into homes, even when devices inside are turned off. That means you are using electricity while sleeping, running errands, or away at the office.
There are smart boxes out there, but they are expensive and require an electrician to install. That makes them inaccessible to the average homeowner or renter.
That was something that Georgia professor Jackson Montgomery wanted to change.
Montgomery started TripSwitch to give breakers a sustainable and smart upgrade. The Atlanta-based hardware company has developed an easy-to-install control and monitoring device. Homeowners and renters can manage their electricity by turning a breaker on and off whenever and wherever needed.
The installation process is similar to that of a Ring doorbell, Montgomery added, as the switch attaches to a breaker box directly with magnets.
After the device is installed, everything is controlled from the user’s phone. For example, users can program the device to turn off everything but a refrigerator or AC as they go to bed and ensure that smart speakers, TVs, and computers aren’t using up excess power at night. TripSwitch allows users to set up timers so that devices are ready for use in the morning.
The device and app also creates a detailed energy report so that users can get more insights into how to save more energy at home.
TripSwitch’s product is going for $400, which Montgomery said ends up “paying for itself in a year” in saved energy bill costs.
TRIPSWITCH’S SMART BREAKER
In true entrepreneurial fashion, Montgomery bootstrapped the initial idea in his garage with a piece of sheet metal. Ultimately, the company is relying on 3D printing for its smart device. The startup is also sourcing all of its materials from inside the State of Georgia, adding to its sustainability efforts.
In order to get off the ground as an IoT and CleanTech company, Montgomery and his team have been working out of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) at Georgia Tech.
Montgomery said building TripSwitch is a true passion for him. He holds four degrees from the University of Georgia and is now a technology lecturer at UGA’s Terry College of Business. But he is also no stranger to the energy world. On top of being an entrepreneur, he is a strategist at Siemens Energy.
To get TripSwitch off the ground and out to more people, Montgomery decided to use the popular crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. The goal is to quite literally kickstart the team’s manufacturing work to ensure that they can get units into more households.
Yes, TripSwitch has a huge built-in potential market of millions of households. But Montgomery believes that TripSwitch can play an important part in helping business owners, offices, and hotels cut down on their energy costs.
