Microsoft application to track and manage personal energy use
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PrintMicrosoft Corp. announced Microsoft Hohm, a new online application that enables consumers to better understand their energy usage, get recommendations and start saving money. Microsoft Hohm uses advanced analytics licensed from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy to provide consumers with personalized energy-saving recommendations.
Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft made the announcement at the Edison Electric Institute’s annual convention in San Francisco. He said, "Microsoft Hohm demonstrates how a combination of advanced software and Internet-based services can help people track, understand and manage their personal energy usage."
The energy models used in Hohm is licensed from Home Energy Saver, a project by the Lawrence Berkeley lab. "This is an example of the power of publicly financed energy research being harnessed by the private sector to develop entirely new applications and markets," said Rich Brown, leader of the project's energy analysis program.
Home Energy Saver is designed to help consumers identify the best ways to save energy in their homes, and find the resources to make the savings happen. It provided the first Internet-based tool for calculating energy use in residential buildings.
About one million people visit the Home Energy Saver website each year, more than 90-percent of whom are homeowners and renters, according to the Lawrence Berkeley lab. The Home Energy Saver calculator quickly computes a home’s energy use on-line based on methods developed at the lab. Users can estimate how much energy and money can be saved and how much emissions can be reduced by implementing energy-efficiency improvements.
