TodayMicrosoft have just launched a new site called Microsoft Hohm.
http://www.microsoft-hohm.com
The site will let you track your energy consumption in the home either by entering data manually or by allowing it access to a smart meter.
Smart meters in the UK are due to be rolled out between 2012 and 2020 and will potentially revolutionise the energy market.
From this point onward you will have the ability to track all of the power consumption in your home. The smart meters will allow you not only to look at the overall power consumption but in some cases could even let you monitor this by room and all the way down to the appliance. All very clever.
This could be technology that starts major change in consumer behaviour.
Both Google and Microsoft have there eyes set on this opportunity to collect more data and it will be interesting to see how it all gets used should the power companies or consumer decide to go down this route of allowing it to be shared.
Microsoft has already laid its cards on the table and will look to use this data to sell additional marketing ads. Google is yet to declare a position but with the ability to generate so much insight on the consumer I am sure it will be a hard temptation to resist.
Interestingly enough as I write this at 4.30pm on the 7th June it looks like the site is down.
HTTP 500 Internal Server Error
I hope that does not mean that they have not paid the electric bill and the servers have been switched off !
Filed under: Creative, Marketing, Opinion, Technology, Energy, Environmental, Green, Green Power, Microsoft Hohm, Power Meters, Smart Meters
