As you may have seen this morning, Natali Del Conte of CBS Early Show put together a great segment about Microsoft Hohm. CBS followed a family in Sacramento and tracked their use of Microsoft Hohm. The family used Hohm which provided them with custom recommendations based on their home's appliances and family habits. They were surprised to learn that their refrigerator in the garage is very inefficient, that they could combine laundry loads to save, and that replacing traditional light bulbs with energy efficient compact florescent ones can make a difference. Mr. Goddard concludes with “if we didn’t change our habits, we’d be spending more money...”

Check out the CBS segment in its entirety here.

Curious to see how Hohm can help YOU start saving money this holiday season?

Meet the “Joneses,” a hypothetical family of four from Seattle, where cooling winter temperatures are just the tip of the energy iceberg.  Every holiday season, between extra houseguests, throwing parties for friends and neighbors, new electronic gadgets, and, of course, unwinding in the hot tub, they find their energy usage goes through the roof. And every winter, inevitably, the Jones family find themselves with a hefty energy bill.

This year however, they’ve vowed to change their behavior and make better decisions about their energy consumption. They’re using Microsoft Hohm, which gives them a personalized energy-saving report complete with recommendations for home improvements and energy saving tips, based on information they provided via their online profile.

The Joneses built their profile with information about their house, appliances, and energy usage, among other things. The more details they provide, the more accurate the energy saving recommendations they will receive. And, because the Joneses are customers of Seattle City Light, their energy usage data is uploaded automatically into their Hohm profile- this makes tracking their electricity usage and costs a snap.  Xcel Energy, and Sacramento Municipal Utility Distric t customers are also able to opt to have their data uploaded. 

Microsoft Hohm uses advanced analytics licensed from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Department of Energy to provide the Joneses with a personalized energy-saving report, complete with home improvement recommendations, based on the information Seattle City Light provided.

Some of the specific recommendations the Joneses received:

·         Close your fireplace damper and seal the flue opening shut when not in use.  Leave a tag reminding you to unblock it before using it again.

·         Outdoor lights are usually left on a long time, so use compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) or LED lamps to reduce energy costs.

·         In winter, lower the thermostat setting and dress warmer. Reducing the setting as little as 1 to 3 degrees F makes a noteworthy difference in energy consumption.  

·         Take short showers instead of baths or longer showers.

They implemented these recommendations and made some other changes after reviewing their detailed energy usage data.  The Joneses also engaged in Hohm’s active community, where they were able to connect with other Hohm users to share ideas and tips on how to save.  From now on, it looks like the Joneses will only be using the hot tub on the weekends…

Products like Hohm are a first step in empowering consumers with useful information, automated tools, and connected appliances.  With Hohm, we can  finally see exactly where the energy in our homes goes, and make easy, informed choices about whether we should be upgrading an old furnace or investing in more insulation.  In the not too distant future, the energy consuming appliances and electric vehicles within our households will all be securely connected to each other across our own private home energy networks.  Based on our individual preferences, presence information, and a wide variety of other data, appliances, lighting, and other devices will automatically adapt to save money or optimize for green energy supplies.   

Numerous studies show that if consumers were simply aware of their energy consumption they would reduce their energy use by up to 10% – that translates to over $16 billion in electricity savings a year in the US.  Add in the smart grid and the right tools and services, and the savings could be even larger.  The best part is that providing the right tools and services can be done at substantially less cost than spending hundreds of billions of dollars in electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and storage assets which are rarely used.

As the Jones family discovered, Microsoft Hohm provides a free, easy-to-use way to better understand energy usage and where there may be opportunities to conserve, and as a result, lower that dreaded energy bill.

Not a customer of Seattle City Light, Xcel Energy, or SMUD but want to keep up with the Joneses? Microsoft Hohm is free to everyone; all you need to do is set up a profile and manually enter information from your utility bill. Go to www.microsoft-hohm.com, give us feedback on the product and tell us that you want your utility provider to become a Microsoft Hohm partner.