How Data Helps Make Purpose Possible

I’m a terrible gardener.

It’s not easy for me to admit this. I have put in countless hours asking questions, visiting forums, and going to local experts—all in an attempt to cultivate my love for homegrown tomatoes. Despite this, my garden is in a sad state-of-affairs.

One morning, surrounded by yellow plants, I pulled out my smartphone and started searching the internet for a new solution. I quickly stumbled upon a treasure trove of new products all aimed at keeping my garden alive. These weren’t your typical potting soils or fertilizers. They were new products created by passionate entrepreneurs building companies with purpose and profit at their core.

The Garden of Edyn

Edyn is one of these companies. Founded by social entrepreneur/scientist Jason Aramburu, Edyn hopes to revolutionize the way farmers and individuals assess the health of their gardens or farms.

Edyn’s product is a solar-powered, cubical box that sits atop a metal stake. Once inserted into the ground, it begins measuring the soil and surrounding atmospheric conditions—it’s like data mining your garden. All this data is analyzed and pushed to an app on your smartphone or tablet, where it’s displayed as a simple-to-read outline of what is going right (or wrong) with your garden.

This data allows your garden to communicate with you. When your garden is thirsty, Edyn sends an alert via Twitter. There is even an optional water valve that connects the Edyn garden sensor and your existing watering system. Using data gathered by Edyn, the watering valve only waters your plants when needed—lowering your utility bill, conserving water and taking the guesswork out of proper watering. Edyn can also cross reference your data to make suggestions on other plants that would thrive in your garden. I am not endorsing Edyn as a product as I haven’t had a chance to use it. What I am excited about is what products like Edyn represent—using data for good.

An old infrastructure learns new tricks

You have probably heard the term ‘Internet of things,’ or IoT, which attempts to describe a new type of always-connected product. What makes an IoT device different from your ‘internet-capable device’ is how they use that connectivity. It cross references, qualifies, and aggregates data into a meaningful story that we, the end-users, can then act upon to hopefully improve our quality of life.  If you own a Fitbit fitness tracker or have a Nest thermostat in your home, you are already part of this growing industry.

But IoT isn’t just about new products. ThinkEco is a green technology firm finding new ways to bring intelligence to our homes. The company’s first product, the modlet, made the electrical outlet smart. When devices are plugged into a standard outlet, they continue to use power—even when they are off or in stand-by mode. In fact, The Department of Energy estimates that in the United States alone, $10 billion is spent each year to power devices that are in standby mode. The modlet allows you to completely cut off power to a device when it’s not in use, allowing us to make decisions on when and how our devices use energy.

ThinkEco didn’t just stop at the outlet. Heating and cooling systems are big drains on the powergrid as well. They teamed up with Con Edison to find ways to bring the intelligence of connected devices to older in-window AC units. The results of their partnership is coolNYC, a program which pays Con Edison customers to enroll and receive a free smartAC Modlet kit that converts their window AC units into smart devices.

These new smart air conditioners are tied into Con Edison’s network, allowing them to adjust customers’ air conditioners when demand for electricity is high. Program participants are alerted through their smartphone when demand on the powergrid goes up and are given the option to opt-out of having their AC adjusted. If they don’t opt out, their window unit is temporarily adjusted to help maintain system reliability. According to Con Edison, the coolNYC program achieved a 22% average demand reduction during six heat events in 2013 and the program has seen a 70% increase compared to 2012. Customers received a thank you gift valued at $25 for participating in the program—and an average of $73 savings on their electrical bill.

Purpose in big data

What makes the ‘Internet of things’ interesting to me is how it tells the story of the systems that surround us. This story informs our actions and interprets information in a relatable way. Suddenly a complex grid of connected tools helps us monitor the effect that extra degree on the thermostat will make on the planet and on our wallets. Our garden can tell us that it will produce higher yields of onions over cantaloupe and that it likes being watered twice a week instead of three.

The IoT is ushering in a new era, where big data is less an abstraction than a relatable, real-world tool that allows purpose-driven consumers, companies and causes to make real-time decisions to improve our quality of life and the health of our surrounding environment.