WisBusiness: UlluTek aims to save electricity consumers money by monitoring in-home power use

By Kyle Jefferson

For WisBusiness.com

MIDDLETON – Technology is driving our economy, our lifestyles – and our energy habits. Our society uses ever-increasing amounts of energy to run our homes and businesses, yet we don’t often know exactly how much until we get the bill.

With help from UlluTek, a Middleton start-up company, your electricity bill could be less shocking.

The UlluTek’s UlluPower is an intelligent, programmable power strip. It looks like an extension cord, but it does more than just let you plug in electronics. It will record and give a detailed analysis via its unique program called UlluNet. With that analysis, consumers can make smart decisions to adjust their electricity-using behavior.

Moreover, the UlluPower is a programmable device. It has a function of allowing the consumers to set a time or automatic detect and turn off the electronic device when it is not in use. By doing so, it will help the consumers to reduce the problem of “phantom power,” which is also known as the standby power loss when the electronic device not in use.

UlluTek’s goal with the UlluPower is to reduce this kind of energy waste. By reducing phantom power, it could save the consumers up to 20 percent of their electric bill.

Furthermore, the UlluPower is wireless-enabled. When plugged in, it automatically joins other UlluPower devices and forms a network, thus giving the consumers a better view of their appliances’ power usage. Eventually, the consumers can manage their appliances remotely from any Internet-connected smart phone or laptop. UlluNet can also predict the possible early signs of failure of the appliances and warn the consumers so they can take appropriate steps.

According to the founder of UlluTek, Thanh Nguyen, UlluPower is based on the concept of “smart grid.” And the name comes from a Finnish word that translates to “crazy owl.”

A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way digital technology to control appliances at consumers’ homes to save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability and transparency. At this point, the smart grid is only available in smaller test markets.

Nguyen said UlluTek’s goal is to let every household and small office practice the smart grid concept and form an online community.

In order to form an online community of smart grid, UlluPower also allows its customers to communicate with each other via a social media website. Thus, people can exchange and share their experiences of saving energy by using UlluPower. Moreover, people can improve their electricity using patterns by learning from the experience of others.

There is currently no effective way to know exactly how much energy you’re using unless you contact the electric utility directly. This product is a smart energy monitor solution to home and commercial builders, and it works best if data is collected over time.

“Manufacturers have limited insight into consumers’ usage behavior due to lack of data,” Nyugen said, “and consumers don’t have a grasp on their power usage.”

UlluPower initially targets the energy-conscious consumers. The UlluTek marketing strategy is to promote their product through word-of-mouth and the UlluPower online community. The company hopes to market first through the Internet, then through home improvement and electronics retail outlets.

The company is currently testing a hardware prototype and a software solution and presented at the recent Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium while it was seeking a seed round investment of $250,000.

— Jefferson is a student in the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communications.