Since we launched Microsoft Hohm last summer, I’ve talked with quite a lot of people who are enthusiastic about saving energy and saving money. One thing I’ve heard time and time again is that people want an easy way to see how they’re doing- and how they compare to others. What they’re looking for, they tell me, is that first simple step they can take to understand their energy use better.
With that in mind, I’m thrilled to announce an exciting new feature on Hohm: starting today, nearly 60 million homes in the United States will have a “Hohm Score,” our instant estimate of a home’s energy efficiency. The Hohm Score is a 1-to-100 estimated score- with 100 being the best- that we calculate for each of the homes in our database. Each Hohm score is unique in that it compares a specific home's estimated and potential energy efficiency. To create a Hohm Score, we combine our own algorithms with public record information and advanced analytics licensed from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Department of Energy to create a personalized Hohm experience, including money saving recommendations.
Simply by entering an address, you’ll get a personalized page that’s filled with information on that home. This page includes the Hohm Score for that home, an estimate of how much that home could be saving annually on energy, a comparison chart that shows how this home’s energy use measures up to other homes in the area, and an energy-cost breakdown for the home. Want to see how your home compares to other homes? You can either use our drop down comparison tool that lets you compare to other homes in your zip, state, and nationally, or you can enter in another address to see how your home compares to that home. Want to see how much you could be saving every year on energy? We’ve got that for you as well.
You can fine-tune the accuracy of your Hohm Score and your personalized savings recommendations by creating a free Hohm account and entering some basic information about your home such as the type of appliances and systems you have. You can also update your home facts and enter your actual energy usage from your utility bills. This personal information will not be shared publicly unless you optionally and explicitly choose to do so.
What we think you’ll find is that by applying even the smallest, low or no-cost tips, you can instantly improve your Hohm Score, which can equate to big savings on your energy bill. If all 60m homes in our database improved ten points in their Hohm score, we could collectively save $16 billion in energy costs annually, or about $250 a year per home. Given that the average Hohm Score in the US is a 61, or close to failing, we’re hoping we can move the country closer to a C average.
One note on our launch today: it’s a big task to develop a unique Hohm Score and personalized energy savings tips for 60 million homes. We know that there will be errors in our calculations and bugs in our product, so thank you for your patience as we work through those.
As you go through this journey of saving green (both energy and money) we encourage you to share your Hohm Score and your story with others in the community. We’ve made it easy for you to engage with the Hohm community on Facebook and Twitter about the different recommendations and experiences you’ve had with Hohm. Future versions of Hohm will have even more integration to leverage the power of these communities to share ideas and stimulate conservation.
I encourage you to check out your Hohm Score today- and please let your friends and family know to do the same. It’s the first step in helping us all save more energy and money. I’ll leave you with one simple question: “Are you an energy hog or energy miser?” Go here to find out: http://www.microsoft-hohm.com
- Troy Batterberry, General Manager, Microsoft Hohm