We finally got that Kill-A-Watt we’ve been thinking about, and we spent a good part of last weekend running around the house measuring the energy use of every single piece of electronic equipment we own. It was surprisingly fun. It was also a lot of numbers. (See below.) But we could draw a few conclusions from all of them:
Cross-posted on pragmaticenvironmentalism.com
How can we measure what we can’t see? Electricity provides a particular challenge in this regard. Even though we’re told turning off lights saves energy and money, many people continue to leave lights on, unaware of how much power they’re actually consuming. What’s more, many devices we use today maintain a low-level of power usage, often referred to as “vampire power” or standby power, even when we think the device is off. Electronics such as computers, stereos and televisions are highly to blame in this regard. There is however light at the end of the tunnel. Google has recently released a new application called PowerMeter that will allow individuals to connect to their utility and view their up-to-date energy usage via iGoogle. While testing is still in progress and the complete version… [view entry]
The debate on the value (and costs) of wide spread deployment and installation of ‘Smart Meters‘ for monitoring energy usage rages on-most notably in the pages of the Wall Street Journal.
A succession of articles and editorials has been published recently, with each author taking a particular side of the argument. As is the case with many issues batted about by the press these days, the reader is left none the wiser.
There are obviously large capital costs involved in both preparing each property for energy use metering and providing a display device for each customer to examine their energy costs–then make intelligent decisions about saving energy and reducing the costs of powering their house.
After seeing how this debate is starting to be defined in the public… [view entry]
If the idea of tracking and analyzing your power consumption via a chart does not excite you, consider NEC’s online energy games. The electronics company’s program, currently undergoing a three-month trial in employees’ homes, uses a WiFi-enabled device attached to your circuit breaker to keep track of power consumption. Information is transmitted to your computer via Zigbee wireless technology, where it can be used to play games like “Carbon Diet” and “Carbon Ball”.
Carbon Diet lets you compete against other households to see who uses the least amount of power. The households with the most eco-points can buy virtual soil, water, flowers, and grass. Carbon Ball features dung beetles competing to travel the farthest, with distance determined by power consumption.
Carbon Diet and Carbon Ball probably won’t fly off… [view entry]
A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about a test program of ‘smart’ meters installed to monitor electricity use in Michigan homes. Now, as details of last week’s stimulus package are unveiled, it seems that smart meter usage within America’s homes will soon go way beyond the prototype stage.
This will provide consumers with immediate feedback on their energy use, and show the effect of turning off lights when they leave the room, or using cold water to wash their clothes.
The Citizen Patriot newspaper in Jackson, Michigan ran a story yesterday about the new ‘smart’ meters Consumers Energy customers will start seeing in their homes. It’s actually a visual display panel that will allow their customers to see-and control–energy usage in their homes.
When prices peak, special thermostats could automatically dial down or shut off air conditioning. Lights, appliances and electronics could also be controlled through display panels or connections to home computers that show energy usage or notify customers of high energy costs.
Consumers Energy will be installing units in 6,000 homes over the next year. Sounds like a great program, and judging by the comments this article has attracted, Consumers Energy needs all the good PR they can get. Energy 2.0 is happy to help!
