Microsoft Hohm connects to home power monitor

Microsoft Hohm is a free online application that helps consumers save energy and money. With Hohm users can better understand their home energy usage, get recommendations to conserve energy and start saving. As with any recommendation engine, Microsoft Hohm will provide increasingly more accurate and relevant suggestions for energy conservation as its users contribute home energy input and feedback. One of the objectives during our beta period is to refine our tool and further increase the value our product can offer.

'Hohm' was chosen because it is a play on the words "home" and "ohm" which is a measurement unit in the energy field.

Microsoft Hohm uses advanced analytics licensed from Lawrence Berkeley Labs and the Department of Energy, to provide personalized energy saving recommendations. These recommendations are tailored based on users' specific household circumstances including home attributes and use of appliances and systems. Consumers will also be able to compare their energy usage with that of others in their area. In this beta version, the Microsoft Hohm team will learn from its users and communities and will make improvements to the site and analytics.

Microsoft Hohm helps utilities better serve their customers by giving insight into their energy consumption, allowing them to make more informed decisions to help them save energy and money.

Martin LaMonica over at CNET has written about recent updates to Microsoft Hohm

Microsoft on Tuesday announced that it has tied its Hohm Web home energy-efficiency application to an electricity monitor called PowerCost Monitor. The combination, which uses a home broadband connection, lets people view home electricity from the Web or from the tabletop electricity monitor.

Whole-home electricity monitors show you how much electricity a house is using at a given moment and how much it's costing you--sort of like a dashboard with a home speedometer and cost per mile.

For Microsoft, it's the first deal it has struck to bring 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 everything from home efficiency improvements to scheduling electric-vehicle charging.

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