Google, in its continuous effort to help us all go green, has started to rollout Google PowerMeter.
PowerMeter is a Google gadget that will help you regulate your homes power usage. The idea is simple, if you can monitor and measure your own power usage then you will be able to help reduce your utility bill by observing where you are wasting energy.
Google has teamed up with a list of power providers that have begun installing new smart meters that when paired with PowerMeter allow the user to observe their power usage. The initial list of participating companies is as follows:
· San Diego Gas & Electric® (California)
· TXU Energy (Texas)
· JEA (Florida)
· Reliance Energy (India)
· Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (Wisconsin)
· White River Valley Electric Cooperative (Missouri)
· Toronto Hydro–Electric System Limited (Canada)
· Glasgow EPB (Kentucky)
The devices will soon be available to millions of users who will hopefully take advantage of this technology to help reduce strain on the power grids. The consumer can also see a direct result of their efforts to reduce their energy usage by having their utility bills each month be lowered.
Hopefully more providers will jump onto the smart meter bandwagon so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of monitoring their own power. It"s these types of small improvements that can vastly reduce our carbon footprint when adopted on a wide scale.