Ever found yourself miles from home, wondering if you’d left the coffee pot on? What if you could turn it off using your iPhone?

The explosive growth in personal technology—everything from smartphones to the Wii (wii.com)—means we’re all using a lot more energy. On average, Americans now have about 25 of these consumer electronics in every household, including electricity-hungry flat panel televisions. By now, most of us are aware of, and probably own, Energy Star-rated, energy-efficient appliances like refrigerators, washing machines and driers but there is no Energy Star (www.energystar.gov) equivalent for the other stuff.

What has emerged but what has are new systems for home energy monitoring. Take BrightSpark by Econetix (econetix.com), a new system designed to make energy efficiency easy. Econetix’s DIY Kit consists of intelligent light sockets, thermostats and powerstrips, all designed to accommodate the ever-expanding landscape of home consumer devices.

At the touch of a button, using a thermostat, your phone, or the web, you can turn off all the lights, or eliminate standby power (for things like the coffeemaker and TV that are using energy even when off) or even automatically synchronize your thermostat with external weather data to minimize energy wastage. What’s interesting is that studies have shown that the more engaged we become with energy usage, the better we get at conservation. And even more interesting? All this efficiency could save you about 30% a month on your utility bills. I’m feeling more energetic already!

[Main Image: www.econetix.com]