Google is working on a project that I’ve wanted to build for years - an intelligent, networked household power monitor. People can’t make intelligent decisions about their electricity usage right now because they don’t have much information to work with. They only get a monthly snapshot of how many kilowatt hours they used, and how much it cost. If they knew exactly which devices in their home were using all of this electricity, and when, they’d be able to make more intelligent decisions.
Even better, people could compare their energy usage to other (anonymous) people in the neighborhood, state, or country. If I knew that I was using 20% more electricity than my neighbor, it might raise some red flags.
I hope Google succeeds in making this accessible to everyone willing to participate!
