Google PowerMeter helps you save money on electricity bills

 

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Posted on 29 Oct 2009 at 11:53

The 'connected home' is still far from reality, but Google is taking steps to make it easier to monitor your energy usage, and potentially save a chunk of cash. It's been available to US users for some time, but PowerMeter is now available in the UK.

This free software tool provides information on how much energy your home is using. PowerMeter gets its information from 'smart' power meters or add-on devices that monitor power usage. It then shows it visually via your iGoogle homepage.

PowerMeter can show you a graph of your electricity usage by day, week or month, and can also compare it to past usage, once sufficient data is available. Being able to see your usage on a daily basis should help you to pinpoint when you use the most power and also how see the constant usage from devices that are permanently drawing power, such as TVs left on standby. Ultimately you should be able to work out how you can reduce your electricity consumption - and of course your bills.

Currently, the only electricity supplier offering smart power meters is first:utility, and this is only to customers in the Midlands. When customers switch to the Smart electricity and gas tariff, first:utility installs a new smart meter for free. These meters should be available to the rest of the UK in 2010. Mark Daeche, first:utility's Chief Executive sensibly observed, "At the end of the day, if you can't measure and view your energy use, it's very difficult to make savings."

If you don't live in the Midlands, there is an alternative: AlertMe Energy. This self-install kit costs £69 (plus £3 per month) and clips over the power cable at your power meter. It sends electricity consumption data wirelessly to a base station, which then relays the information to its own Dashboard, but is also compatible with Google PowerMeter.
To find out more, visit Google PowerMeter's homepage.

Author: Jim Martin