The Distributed Power Monitoring System consists of 2 components:

1. A base station (usb memory stick form factor).
The base station receives periodic reports (configurable) from
field units via low-power radio (Zigbee or similar next-gen product)
It also includes software to process the data, and hosts a
web server (apache) replete with trending graphs,
power cost totals, etc.

2. The field units (number practically unlimited) plug into a
standard socket, and have a pass-thru socket which allows any
normal appliance to be plugged into the power as usual.
As power flows to the appliance the field unit records the
current on a regular basis (by default , per minute).
Each reporting interval (e.g. hourly), it reports the accumulated
data to the base station via low power radio.

The system allows the consumer to track exactly how much each
appliance is using in detail, so as to be able to adjust their
behavior to minimize energy waste.

The software and hardware for this project will be released
under Open Source and Open Hardware licenses.