Why Thuisbord

In many homes, one person knows how things stand with energy. They have the supplier's app, check tomorrow's electricity price and roughly know when the solar panels produce the most. The rest of the household sees little of this. They start the washing machine when it suits them, and that makes sense: nobody opens an energy app before switching on the dishwasher.

Meanwhile, many kitchens have a paper calendar on the wall, the shopping list lives in three different apps and someone asks every evening who still has something to do. Thuisbord brings those two worlds together on one screen that everyone at home can see.

One screen for the whole home#

Thuisbord turns a screen you already have into your household's shared screen: a tablet on the wall, the TV, a laptop or a phone. It runs in the app for Android and iOS, or simply in the browser. There is no new device to buy. Which TVs work exactly is something we are still finding out.

The screen is made to be read from across the room. Someone walking past with a laundry basket should see in two seconds whether now is a good time to use power, without touching anything. That is the test we set ourselves: if a ten-year-old cannot tell, the screen is not good enough.

What the screen shows#

Thuisbord has two sides.

Energy. The screen shows how much power your home is using or feeding back right now, what electricity costs today and, once those prices are known, tomorrow. It also shows what power has cost you so far today. Next to that is one line of advice in plain words, such as: "Power is expensive now. Wait with the washing until after 21:00." That advice comes from fixed rules. The same situation always gives the same advice, and it does not jump back and forth every minute.

We show amounts in euros first and kilowatt-hours second, because most people think in money. And where a figure is an estimate, it says "about". We would rather be honest than seemingly precise.

The family. The same screen shows the family calendar, each family member's tasks and the shopping list. You tick off a task or an item with one touch on the screen, without signing in, and undo a mistake just as easily. Adults add tasks and shopping items with the app on their phone. In the evening the screen becomes calmer and shows your own photos, with a thin strip of energy information.

Why the two together? An energy screen is mostly useful on days when something happens with power. A screen with the calendar and the shopping list is one you look at every day. That way the screen stays on the wall, and everyone sees the energy too, even when nobody is looking for it.

How the meter is connected#

Thuisbord does not read your smart meter itself. Your own Homey or Home Assistant does that, and it often knows the meter already. From there, the meter values go to Thuisbord, and every screen in the home reads them from there. For Homey there will be a Thuisbord app; in Home Assistant you add a short command and an automation. The help pages for Homey and Home Assistant explain the steps.

Our goal is that setup takes under five minutes for anyone whose meter is already in Homey or Home Assistant. Have neither? Then the calendar, the tasks, the shopping list and the photos work as usual, and the energy cards show how to connect a meter later.

Thuisbord only reads. It does not switch devices on or off, does not steer a home battery or a car charger, and controls nothing through Homey or Home Assistant. What you do with the advice is up to you.

As little data as possible#

A screen in the living room should not know more about you than it needs to. That is why we make two promises.

The first is about the meter. Your Homey or Home Assistant only sends meter values to Thuisbord after you agree to it during setup. Beforehand, the phone shows exactly which values Thuisbord receives. Only what is needed is sent: the power at this moment, and, when your meter reports them, the import and export totals, the active tariff, and solar and gas. Thuisbord stores the readings in the EU, and only your household can see them. We never sell or share them, and never write them to logs. If you disconnect your Homey or Home Assistant, nothing more is sent. If you delete your household, Thuisbord deletes its readings too.

The second is about the family. Family members' names, tasks, shopping items, calendar links and photos have to show on several devices. That is why Thuisbord stores them on servers in the EU, and only your household can see them. Children do not get an account. For them, Thuisbord keeps no more than a first name and a colour.

There are no ads in Thuisbord and no third-party tracking, not in the app and not on this website. The help page What Thuisbord receives explains exactly how it works.

Calm, even on busy days#

The screen is on all day in a room where people live. So it stays calm: no flashing notifications, no alarm colours unless something really needs doing, and no charts you have to study. One sentence says more than a chart; the chart is only there to back that sentence up.

The colours have a fixed meaning. Green is cheap, orange is expensive, amber is the sun and blue is the grid. We use those colours for nothing else. And colour is never the only signal: there is always a word or a time with it, so that everyone can read it.

Where we are now#

Thuisbord is still in development and not for sale yet. We are starting in the Netherlands, in Dutch and English; everyone chooses their own language. What Thuisbord will cost is on the pricing page.

Would you like to try it as soon as you can? The home page explains how to join the waitlist.