My name is Justin Luyt. I started this blog in the midst of out 2008/9 recession with the purpose of helping others reduce their monthly expenses. All around our homes we have a multitude of devices, tapping into your bank account every day.If we look at industries that have had huge growth recently I am sure everyone will recall the Information Age when the internet was one of the greatest leaps forward most of us would see in our lives. Now you and I can run a business from home from this thin called the internet, now what is the next big thing? Sometimes we simply have to look at what the big boys are preparing for.
Both Microsoft and Google have been developing tools to monitor consumer electricity use. Their game plan is to engage energy providers to use their platform and in turn offer their customers a nice intuitive reporting tool to give their customers better insight how they are using electricity. Both these companies have something in place on the platform side, but the task of bringing partners onboard to use their solution is a slow one.
Which brings us today to have a look at Microsoft Hohm which was released this week into beta. For starters Microsoft Hohm requires you have a Windows Live ID. Don’t worry, if you have ever used any of the Microsoft services like Hotmail, Live Journal or other Microsoft services you already have a Windows Live ID. If not, the Microsoft Hohm wizard will guide you through the steps of getting one.
The wizard will guide you through some steps gathering information about where you live and detailed information about your home itself. The aim of the wizard is to fully understand how your home is build and what energy devices you use. At the end you will be given tips oh now to improve your energy use and also generate charts of your energy use.
Most of the information the wizard asks for is easy, but some are little tricky if you do not know. Here are some of the questions I had to think about more seriously before answering:
- Which directions does your home face? North, east south, west?
- What materials is your roof made of?
- How much insulation do you have in your roof and attic?
- What materials were used in your homes wall frames?
- What type of foundation do you have?
- What type of heating and cooling system do you have?
- What are the temperature settings of your water heater?
Above are only a few of the complex information the Microsoft Hohm wizard collects, in addition to many other basic data sets. Upon completion you will be presented with a chart of how your energy usage compares against others in your neighborhood. Most valuable is the tips they offer for how to save on energy use, based on the information you entered.
Right now only a few energy providers have partnered with Microsoft Hohm. In the big picture the intent is for electricity and gas providers to provide data feeds into the service, creating a collaborative energy management tool. If your provider is not listed you can manually enter your electricity and gas statement information for tracking.
Although Microsoft Hohm and Google PowerMeter is a step in the right direction for creating an interactive energy management platform, there is still lots of work to be done. All the data that is collected is collected by manually entering it into the system, which makes it both non-interactive and less accurate. The use of a good Electricity Meter like The Energy Detective (especially the TED Series 5000) it will give you more live and real time usage of your home’s energy use. Thet being said, make sure to see what Microsoft Hohm has to offer.
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Sep 20, 2009 at 08:00:35
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Sep 20, 2009 at 12:31:01
As a Newbie, I am always searching online for articles that can help me. Thank you