Google Powermeter to monitor your home energy use

Posted by David Walker on Wed 28 Oct 2009

Needs a powered-up computer for checking

Google wants to save the planet and save you money - with the Google Powermeter being its weapon of choice.

The Guardian is reporting that the Google Powermeter is a free online tool that allows you to monitor your home's energy use and greenhouse gas emissions via the web. Which should make it easier to reduce to consumption and save money. That's the theory anyway, the one downside is that you'll need to power up a computer or mobile phone to check it. Doh!

Using either smart meters, or an add-on clip for the meter you already have, the electricity consumption report updates your personalised iGoogle profile, letting you know daily just how much you're saving (or wasting). The government's Energy Saving Trust is claiming that when monitoring energy consumption, users can cut their bills by up to 15 per cent. That equates to around £75 in saved money a year, which is the price of a console game or two, six CDs or the best part of 75 music downloads. In those terms, it seems worth the effort.

There is a downside though. The app is free, but you'll need to either buy a gadget called AlertMe Energy to use it or switch to first:utility, a small energy supplier. If you opt for the gadget, it costs £69 or £3 per month. Suddenly that saving doesn't look all that great. But hey, you're helping the planet.

It's only the first step in Google's plan to energy save, the next, according to Jens Redmer, director for business development at Google, is to offer 'friendly competition' - yes, battling with your neighbours over who can cut their usage the most. The winner? Probably the one who catches a cold first.

If it all sounds a bit too costly, the government is working on its own specification for smart meters. But the finished product isn't expected to be in all our homes until 2020.

Link: AlerMe (via The Guardian)

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