Microsoft announces the addition of a remote, real-time energy monitoring device to its Hohm service, while Google continues to expand its coverage as both vie for dominance of the smart meter market.
As the development of the smart grid continues, software manufacturers such as Google and Microsoft are throwing their weight behind developing online energy monitoring software.
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I saw the announcement of Hohm’s monitoring with the Blue Line whole house sensor. That’s good. (I also saw that their sensor uses an IR device to read the meter; went outside and sure enough, my smart meter has an IR LED. Hmmm…). The Blue Line setup costs $268 including the the gateway which is required to connect to the internet. I think the TED device costs about $200 and connects with Google’s Powermeter.
But this article, like many I read, talks big ideas but seems to lack details and also adds confusion. For example they say "smart meters, … inform the user of the best time to use a high-energy appliance." as if this was already in place. This is a goal, but I’m not aware of anyone who provides any best time of use recommendations yet.
Another issue is that these are whole house perspectives. I have PG&E service and I can see, because of the smart meter, my whole house KWH down to a per hour basis. Frankly, I’m more interested to know how much my entertainment system is using; or my fridge, or my 3 computers in the laundry room.
Finally they say, "The real-time meter, developed by Blue Line Innovations, will also allow consumers to make adjustments to their energy usage by remotely turning off lights for example." That *is* what we’ll want, but I see nothing on the site that indicated that the Blue Line products can remotely turn appliances on/off.
What I want from my power company is the API to my data so I can hook it up to something like Pachube, or my own little data logger service. Doubt that’s going to happen anytime soon.
I saw the announcement of Hohm’s monitoring with the Blue Line whole house sensor. That’s good. (I also saw that their sensor uses an IR device to read the meter; went outside and sure enough, my smart meter has an IR LED. Hmmm…). The Blue Line setup costs $268 including the the gateway which is required to connect to the internet. I think the TED device costs about $200 and connects with Google’s Powermeter.
But this article, like many I read, talks big ideas but seems to lack details and also adds confusion. For example they say "smart meters, … inform the user of the best time to use a high-energy appliance." as if this was already in place. This is a goal, but I’m not aware of anyone who provides any best time of use recommendations yet.
Another issue is that these are whole house perspectives. I have PG&E service and I can see, because of the smart meter, my whole house KWH down to a per hour basis. Frankly, I’m more interested to know how much my entertainment system is using; or my fridge, or my 3 computers in the laundry room.
Finally they say, "The real-time meter, developed by Blue Line Innovations, will also allow consumers to make adjustments to their energy usage by remotely turning off lights for example." That *is* what we’ll want, but I see nothing on the site that indicated that the Blue Line products can remotely turn appliances on/off.
What I want from my power company is the API to my data so I can hook it up to something like Pachube, or my own little data logger service. Doubt that’s going to happen anytime soon.
Ach! Don’t get me started…