

Show HN: Launching energy tracking and automation web app - jbarbosa
http://unplu.gg

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hizio
Holy image size. Pretty cool idea, and it seems like you've put a lot of time
into the site, but I recommend hiring a designer to clean everything up. A
site is often the first impression of a company, and if I came across this on
my own I would have immediately left.

Some things right off the top of my head:

\- Don't use a giant 650kb image for the main content block. This can be
broken down a lot into smaller images and css. I would even have a sign up
form or large sign up button as part of this block too.

\- Use sans-serif fonts, I usually go with something like Open Sans

\- Don't use grey text on a grey background. I would maybe put a white
background for the middle 960px of the page to give more focus to the content.

Hope this helps a bit, and if you have questions or want some more advice feel
free to message me.

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rjegundo
Thanks for the clear feedback.

We will be taking it into account as we revamp the landing page - which is
naturally on the short-term roadmap.

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newbie12
Hi, it isn't really clear what the product is. How does it interface with my
meter or other hardware? Do I need to buy the app and a power monitor? How
does it communicate with my existing home network, or the internet? The copy
is written by a non-native English speaker, there are subtle problems with the
language, that plus the graphic design needs to be tightened up. The overall
marketing needs to be more serious-- I think the product sector is more like
banking or health care, in that there are major safety and privacy concerns.
So you need marketing that conveys that you're serious people, that the
hardware won't catch on fire or electrocute me, and that the API and my home
network are secure.

~~~
pixelphantom
Agree 100%. Do I need to buy something? I don't know. Can I just download the
app and connect it to existing hardware in my house? If I need to buy a
monitor first, why wouldn't I use the software that that comes with?

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blazingfrog2
I just signed up using a custom userid/pwd (not FB login) and did not connect
any social network account to unplu.gg and I noticed that my picture is
showing up in the profile.

How did that happen?

~~~
jbarbosa
You probably have your email connected to a gravatar account with your
picture.

~~~
blazingfrog2
That's it. Was confirmed by Antonio from unplu.gg.

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guptaneil
This is great! Last year, I worked on a project during a hackathon to build an
energy meter and gamify saving electricity by building a game where the user
is fighting vampires. The more electricity users saved in the real world, the
more virtual energy they built up in the game to be able to defend against
waves of vampire attacks.

Once products like this become mainstream, it'll be nice to see developers
work on more polished ideas that use energy usage data in interesting and
meaningful ways.

~~~
typicalbender
One thing that I like that the Nest (<http://www.nest.com/>) has done is they
give you a green leaf if you set the temperature at an energy saving level.
Then each month or so they email you how many green leaves you've accumulated
and how you are doing compared to the average in your area. While this is not
a full blown "game" it definitely triggered my competitive side and I've tried
to turn down the thermostat to get as many green leaves as possible.

~~~
scampcat
Rather than seeing what kind of punishing temperatures one can endure to
please their thermostat, other options are available that I consider more
intelligent. An attic fan, thicker insulation, whole-house fan, window
maintenance, sealing air gaps, etc. While there is the demographic that has an
empty house while they're gone at work, most have a family, pets, etc. that
should not be subject to varying extremes of temperatures. Instead of focusing
on when to adjust temperature for human conditions for the sake of saving
energy (and money), the house should probably be sealed better to _retain_ the
temperature with minimal machinery involvement. The Nest is a cool gadget, but
very limited in actual value in its current implementation.

~~~
typicalbender
Very true, It would be like trying to pump more blood into a bleeding patient
and calling it good when the rate you are pumping in matches the rate at which
its exiting the gaping wound. I live in an apartment building so the
relatively small space and little bits that I can do to increase insulation
make the Nest perfect for my application. Also being able to turn my heat on
while I'm driving home is a huge win.

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driverdan
I recommend putting Amazon (or other) affiliate links to purchase the hardware
you support. I don't have such hardware but am interested in it. I would have
gladly clicked your links to check it out. Instead I now have to copy and
paste into search.

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skram
Any info or thoughts about supporting Green Button exports?

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rjegundo
There is an API already to export data. Currently it doesn't use the
Greenbutton format, but is something to be considered in the future.

~~~
skram
I was more thinking of the ability to import my greenbutton data to gain
insights

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rjegundo
We already parse that type of data, if it is from tendril connect.

Where you thinking about uploading a simple file?

If you would like to help us understand your use case, can you send a quick
email to mail at unplu dot gg ?

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riskish
how is this different from WattVision.com?

~~~
rjegundo
<http://unplu.gg> is hardware agnostic.

The data can be collected from a range of sensors like The Energy Detective or
Current Cost. That is the current best selling point.

The rest is vision of what this service can be. And our focus in that regard
seems very differente, although only a part of that vision is represented in
the current state of the app.

Hopefully we will be back in a couple of months showing a couple of disruptive
new features.

