Natural Fuse Each Natural Fuse unit consists of a houseplant and a power socket. The amount of power available to the socket is limited by the capacity of the plant to offset the carbon footprint of the energy expended: if the appliance you plug in draws so much power that it requires more carbon-offsetting than available then the unit will not power. (see www.haque.co.uk for more info). The problem is that even low-power light bulbs draw more power than can be comfortably offset by a single plant. Therefore, all the units are connected together via the internet so that they can communicate and determine how much excess capacity of carbon-offsetting is available within the community of units as a whole. For example, if you use an appliance that draws 4 watts, and there are 6 Natural Fuse units out in the community that are not currently drawing power then you can switch on your appliance at full capacity and comfortably offset the carbon footprint of your appliance by borrowing from the other units. (Calculations of course include the energy cost of powering the electronics inside the unit itself). Building on what is known as prisoner's dilemma in game theory, the project is as much about the structures of participation as it is about energy conservation. Rather than just having an "on/off" switch for your appliance, you are provided with a "selfless/selfish" switch. If you choose "selfless" then the unit will provide only enough power that won't harm the community's carbon footprint.

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