The Energy Orb is being used by some electric utilities—no, not as a crystal ball to gaze into—but as a frosted-glass ball that illuminates a varying degree of colors to represent peak demand conditions. During high-demand, expensive periods, the Orb changes color to forewarn customers when power supplies are strained. Energy Orb maker Ambient Devices has partnered with Ember, a leading maker of ZigBee chipsets, to interface with smart-meter-to-home networks being deployed across the country. Ambient’s latest Orb has a screen, showing the total current cost of powering your home in big numbers, with energy consumption and current cost in real time displayed in smaller type below. The new orb can also pulse quickly if you’re using too much juice. Unfortunately, the Orb is only available through utilities.