Energy Efficiency Displays Will Be Commonplace by 2015

Posted by Carol Sonenklar on December 13, 2009 at 11:07 am

Google’s PowerMeter is one energy information display that consumers can use to conserve energy and lower their bills. (image: sciencemag.org)

If you think it’s impossible to actually keep track of your electricity use, how you use it, or when you use it, think again. Green Tech reports that it’s only a matter of time before many of us will have access to a wealth of information about our energy usage. According to Pike Research, by 2015 there will be 28.1 million users of home energy information displays—accessed through smart meters, Web-based dashboards, or mobile phones—that will enable us to view our electricity consumption, often in real time.

The logic goes that making people aware of their energy consumption will help them to lower it through a variety of ways: by implementing a programmable heating and cooling system, or using energy-heavy appliances such as dryers at off-peak times, or by simply unplugging appliances they aren’t using on a constant basis. Studies have found that a combination of more detailed information and utility-run incentive programs can help consumers lower between 5 percent and 15 percent off their bills.

Smart metering is an important part of President Obama’s stimulus package. In October he named 100 utility projects that will split $3.4 billion in federal stimulus funding to hasten deployment of a smart electric grid that works in tandem with energy information display systems.

Though the smart meter business is still in its infancy, big players like Microsoft and Google both have Web dashboards, and the field is getting crowded with a number of providers from very different fields. The smart-grid stimulus program is expected to result in over 1 million homes getting these displays for free from utility companies. Many energy information display companies are developing gateways using home Internet connections to read existing meter data and software to provide suggestions to consumers, which could make checking your energy usage as easy as checking your email.