MR Lawrence Lee, (right) 36, came up with the idea of ETrack because he wanted to know what his family's energy usage patterns were.

He said: "I was spending a lot on electricity.

"Since installing ETrack, I've saved 20 per cent on my bills simply by minimising usage of air-con and switching to fans."

Mr Lee thought of making a domestic energy consumption tracking device about three years ago.

He made a prototype late last year and, within two months, had something that he could show to the National Environment Agency.

A spokesman for NEA said ETrack empowers households to manage their electricity usage and practise energy saving.

He said: "NEA worked with Bridex Harwal as we saw the potential for the device to motivate households to be more efficient in their electricity usage.

"Reducing electricity wastage is a direct way for households to mitigate Singapore's greenhouse gas emissions and help slow down climate change."

He added: "Together with the energy saving tips on our website (www.e2singapore.gov.sg/ energy-saving-tips.html), the ETrack can help households save on their electricity bills."

Mr Lee said most people don't calculate energy usage because it can be technical and tedious.

"ETrack is an educational tool to change behaviour of people.

"You can buy an air-con with four ticks for energy efficiency, but if it is on 24 hours a day, it defeats the purpose.

"Reducing usage is the most productive way to save energy," he said.

Depending on what changes are made based on usage patterns shown by ETrack, users can offset the cost of the device through savings on their power bill within a year, said Mr Lee.

A six-month ETrack pilot project was started in North West and South West community development council in August.

It involves installing ETrack in 200 residents' homes for free and monitoring their usage patterns.

Readings will be taken every month and compared to readings for residents without ETrack.

Bridex Harwal sales manager Frederick Goh said: "There are no concrete comparisons yet as it has only been two months. The project aims to increase awareness of usage so that people can be less wasteful."

This article was first published in The New Paper on October 3, 2008..