nucleus

Best Buy to sell home energy management gear

WASHINGTON D.C.--Best Buy plans to start selling home energy management products in stores later this year, creating a channel to introduce consumers to emerging grid technologies.

The consumer electronics retailer in late October will start a trial in which three stores will have dedicated areas to demonstrate and explain a range of home energy technologies, said Kris Bowring, senior director and platform lead for home energy at Best Buy, at the GridWeek conference here yesterday.

The choice of products has not yet been finalized but there will be a variety, ranging from simple whole-house energy monitors to a … Read more

Anthony Gallo Acoustics: Changing the shape of speaker design

Since the company was founded in 1994, Anthony Gallo Acoustics (AGA) has specialized in designing spherical speakers. I've recounted the reasons for eliminating box, wood-based cabinets in most of my Gallo reviews, but for now let's just say that getting rid of the box can be a huge plus for the speaker's sound. So, why after so many years of dominating the round loudspeaker market would the company dare make a traditional wooden enclosure speaker?

"We learned how to really make it work," says Anthony Gallo, founder of AGA. "Since its inception, the box … Read more

GE to test energy efficiency of smart homes

General Electric will provide digital energy technology for a research project to test how energy-efficient homes can be with smart-grid products for consumers.

The $5 million Department of Energy program will equip homeowners in the western U.S. with GE's Nucleus home electricity management system, with LED lighting, and with connected appliances. Homes will also be equipped with solar panels.

The project will evaluate whether the combination of on-site power production through solar and energy management technology can reduce energy usage by 70 percent in both new and existing homes, according to GE.

Basing calculations on U.S. averages … Read more