Universal Remote Control Releases TED 5000 Compatible Modules

Energy consumption becomes a really big deal during the summer months. Our electric bills tend to increase drastically due to the constant use of air conditioning units and other devices as we spend a lot of time indoors. It becomes imperative for home owners to have a way to monitor their energy usage in a way that is easy enough to understand. That task just became a little easier for owners of URC (Universal Remote Control) network-attached remotes, thanks to new modules that work in conjunction with the TED 5000 energy monitor, a device designed to monitor your home’s energy consumption in real time.

The modules are designed for URC’s Network Series controllers, the KP-4000, MX-5000, and MX-6000, and function as applications on the remotes, providing instant (and in the case of the MX-5000 and MX-6000, portable) access to your TED 5000, allowing you to monitor all things energy-related in your home, such as your power cost history, projected energy costs, and kilowatt usage, at the touch of a button.

Of course, you’ll need a professional electrician or someone with equal experience to set up the TED 5000 for you (not to mention a certified URC programmer to install the module). The main unit is connected to your home’s breaker panel, and it sends information through a powerline to a Gateway device plugged into an electrical outlet inside the home. Finally, the Gateway sends all the information it gathers to the TED 5000′s screen (or, obviously, your URC remote’s screen) for you to read.

The URC modules are free (you’ll only have to spring for the extra programming). The TED 5000 costs $199.95 and, according to its official website, only costs $0.08 a month to operate. But in the long run both can save you a lot of time and money. They’re worth looking in to if you’re trying to make your home a greener place to live.

For more information on URC’s Network Series controllers, see UniversalRemote.com. And for more information about TED, check out TheEnergyDetective.com.

You can also check out HomeTechTell editor Dennis Burger’s review of the MX-6000 at Home Entertainment magazine’s website, and his review of the MX-5000 at Residential Systems.