Gimme, Gimme, Gimme…Google PowerMeter

Google’s PowerMeter is yet another clever and much needed application of technology. We residential folk have got to start pulling our weight, energy conservation wise and to get started, Google finds inspiration in a quote from Lord Kelvin,

“If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.”

Sure, powerstrips to cut ‘vampire power’ is a good start, but just how much is being saved energy wise? How much does it cost me to leave a couple of lights on over the weekend while I am away? How much does it cost to dry of my underwear? Google PowerMeter to the rescue. The tool, still under wraps, will allow me and my power company to track my household usage in order to better understand how I use electricity.

Google, why must you tease me? Why must I wait? Well for starters, my home (and just about everybody else’s home) does not have a smart power meter installed. Indiana Michigan Power company began installing 10,000 smart meters in South Bend late last year. The power company has a nifty little QuickTime video on how smart meters work that is worth checking out.

So, to recap: IPL installs a smart meter + Google releases PowerMeter to the public (when?) + I shell out a couple of hundred bucks for Google PowerMeter sensors = me as a smarter energy consumer.