Homeowner 'hooks up' house to Twitter

24 June 2009 | 12:58:00 PM | Source: SBS staff and agencies

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An IBM engineer has wired up his family home to Twitter, allowing him to keep tabs on everything from his security system to mouse traps. (BBC)

An IBM engineer has wired up his family home to Twitter, allowing him to keep tabs on everything from his security system to mouse traps.

Andy Stanford Clark has rigged up a network of sensors throughout his house to monitor almost every single activity – which then sends updates to his mobile phone via Twitter.

Each day, he gets messages like 'bathroom heater turned on', 'gym temperature is cold' or even 'mouse caught in study'. It also measures water and electricity usage.


"I get updates about what my friends and colleagues are doing, and what is going on in the house, its all part of the general buzz of information", he says.


"It's a showcase of how this could work on a big scale, and its had lots of useful effects already", he said.

However the initiative isn't just for show, it also saves money.

Since monitoring his electricity usage to tell him every $20 spent, his quarterly electricity bill has dropped by a third.


"We are all concerned about the environment and recycling so it has really helped us become aware of our energy use and cut it down".
 

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