powerhouse

iBike fitness tool puts trainer on your handlebars

LAS VEGAS--A woman is pedaling leisurely on a stationary bike, her thick, dark braid draped delicately over one shoulder as she barely breaks a sweat. Someone whispers that she's Brazilian, and thus a real, live example of what you get with one of Velocomp's new workouts, Brazilian Butt. (Using a real, live Brazilian who presumably has said butt sans effort rather defeats the point, but I digress.)

Velocomp, creators of last year's iBike Dash, unveiled the iBike Powerhouse at CES this week--the Dash's bigger, badder cousin.

For $269, the handlebar-mounted cycling computer that includes a water- and shock-resistant case and syncs with the iPhone and iPod Touch is all about tailored workouts that remind you when you're slacking off.… Read more

An energy monitor for the corner store

Energy monitoring company Powerhouse Dynamics said it raised funding to expand into the commercial market, an area considered far easier to crack than residential customers.

The Boston-based company today said it raised a $3 million series A from SosVentures to build a sales network for its recently introduced C-series eMonitor. The company had raised about $2.5 million in angel funding, the CEO said earlier this year.

Powerhouse Dynamics said that its relatively light-weight energy monitoring system will give small retailers, restaurants, and the like a way to cut about 20 percent of their electricity use with a centralized monitoring … Read more

eMonitor home energy tracker drills deep

Powerhouse Dynamics expects its first customers this week to receive its eMonitor home energy manager, a product that enters a crowded market for tracking where energy goes in the home.

There are dozens of companies working on in-home energy displays or home energy monitor systems, many of which will be tested as part of utility smart-grid programs.

Newton, Mass.-based Powerhouse Dynamics, by contrast, plans to sell through resellers, such as online retailers, energy auditors and contractors, or solar installers. So far, the company has more than 30 dealers signed up, according to CEO Martin Flusberg.

Many energy monitors are … Read more

Greening up the neighborhood--residence to get highest LEED rating

A Cambridge, Mass. home is expected to get the highest rating from the Green Building Council at what appears to be market prices.

The two-unit building, which I took pictures of while it was being built, has got many of the green features you could think of: bamboo flooring, air-tight insulation, and a combined solar electric and hot water roof.

The developer and designers of the house--Sustainable Living and PowerHouse Enterprises--said on Friday that they expect the house to get Platinum certification, joining only about a dozen other residences with that rating.

And the price for this two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse … Read more