Does Your Water Cooler Really Need to Work at 2 AM? Or How Yotta’s Technology will Revolutionize You

If companies like NEST are talking about smart home technology potentially saving 10-

12 percent on your electric bill, Yotta stands to change the playing field, stating that up to

40 percent can be knocked off by continuously monitoring all house electrical devices

and getting a full picture of your home ecosystem.

Yotta has taken significant steps to bring its technology to maturity in the realm of

information gathering. Understanding that the deeper the data the better its

services,Yotta honed its ability to compare the same appliance’s power consumption

across different homes.

Using an artificial neural network,Yotta can recognize any electrical device plugged in

the network by its model and type. The identification is critical, as it allows for the

provision of two types of alerts. The first is immediate - for example, getting an alert

when leaving the house with a device still running such as an iron. The technology can

classify that device, alert the owner with a text message, or simply turn off the device

automatically (if it is preset to do so). This ability provides a significant safety net, since

70 percent of house fires are created by home electricity problems.

The second type of alert Yotta can deliver relates to gathering information on electronic

devices over time. For instance, the technology can monitor the power consumed by

each device and determine trends in your household compared to others using the same

device. It then can provide alerts in cases of irregularities. A scenario where you'll get a

message saying that your AC is working too hard and likely needs more cooling liquid

will become commonplace. It can even go further, so as to send out a push notification

to a service provider to automatically schedule a time for maintenance.

But the real beauty in the technology stems from learning behavior. This means also

knowing when not to send an alert. For example, on a day that the system identifies

irregularities in which the refrigerator is being opened many times and all the lights are

on, the pattern will likely be identified as a party in the house and no alert should be sent

out. Another case where you could see higher savings is in automatically switching off

unused electronic devices. For instance, a water cooling device could be set to switch off

during the night time hours when it is not necessary. Consumers stand to save up to 300

NIS a year from that alone.

Yotta is planning on seeking a second round of investment this summer. The company

asserts that its information gathering capabilities will be an asset to contractors as well

as real estate companies looking to provide added value.

We would like to send a big thank you to Zvika Weber, Yotta’s CEO, for sharing his

experience and wisdom.