Microsoft: Keeps a tap on consumption with Hohm

Microsoft announced that it has tied its Hohm Web home energy-efficiency application to an electricity monitor called PowerCost Monitor. This combination uses a home broadband connection and let people view home electricity from the Web or from the tabletop electricity monitor. Whole-home electricity monitors show you the consumption of electricity at a given moment and the costing as per the rate of consumption.

Linking Hohm to the monitor allows people to see the information from a Web-enabled device, such as a PC or smartphone. Significantly, it also allows people to get detailed data on the electricity usage of the whole day and even compare one period to another.

This has been Microsoft’s first deal in bringing energy data via an electricity monitor into Hohm, the company's foray into consumer energy efficiency. Microsoft hopes to have Hohm act as a software hub for managing home efficiency improvements to scheduling electric-vehicle charging.

A smart meter has two-way communications that allow it to send electricity information into a home for viewing by utility customers. A number of smart-grid companies are seeking to tap into that data stream with in-home energy displays which give consumers more visibility into home energy.

By contrast, Hohm collects electricity data using Wi-Fi and a home's broadband connection. Blue Line Innovations made the PowerCost Monitor with a small circular hub which actually acts as a gateway to send information to Hohm using Wi-Fi and a router.

According to studies it has been noted that with regular feedback, people get an idea of the usage and thus try to conserve and minimize any extra consumption of electrical energy.

Adding the historical data that Hohm brings gives people more information to play with and examine, said Peter Porteous, the CEO of Blue Line Innovations. He projects people can cut electricity at least 5 percent using the products. "The immediate return on investment is reducing that idle zone--that's the waste which is happening but we don't have enough information to do something about," he said. "The combination of data trending online and using the monitor to wander around the home and experiment can absolutely reduce the baseline."

Hohm with combined wi-fi gateways, Microsoft expects, will allow consumers to both view electricity consumption and potentially control appliances. "We're riding the coattails of the Internet connection going into the home," said Troy Battenberry, the general manager of Hohm. "It makes far more economic sense and it's much more future-proofed than meter networks built by utilities."