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Who could imagine being wowed by a garbage can? In our age of technological whiz-bang, not much floors us anymore. But I confess, I couldn’t stop thinking about the lowly garbage can.
Embedded with smart sensors, it alerts city workers when it’s ready to be emptied, which slashes fuel costs and avoids unnecessary garbage pickups. That may not sound so impressive — at least compared to driverless cars or sending regular folk into space — but when the dumbest of items gains intelligence, we need to pay attention.
We are entering a phase in the cleantech revolution where we are reaping efficiency value from even the most mundane items.
“The garbage app reduces energy costs by 50% to 60%. That’s not pie-in-the-sky — those are real savings for real cities that can make them even more livable and enjoyable for residents,” says Tim Wolf, Global Director of Marketing for Smart Grid Solutions at Itron.
The real return on the Internet of things will come from small examples like this garbage can sensor and app that reduces energy costs by 50% to 60%.