Microsoft’s residential energy management software, Hohm, went live at 9am this morning. My utility isn’t a Hohm partner, so I’ll need to input my own energy data, but the software is surprisingly accurate - it came pretty close to guessing my annual energy spend just based on the questions about my home.
NPR’s Morning Edition has been looking at the future of the grid recently in a new 10-part series called “Power Hungry: Reinventing the US Electric Grid.” They also developed some cool web-specific content on the topic, like this interactive map of the US that shows existing and planned transmission lines, power plants, and renewable capacity. While the whole series is worth checking out, here are the must-listen “episodes” if you’re interested in the smart grid:
One of the common misconceptions about the “smart grid” is that advanced metering infrastructure is inherently “smart.” But the truth is that AMI only becomes “smart” when applications leverage the technological capabilities of this new infrastructure, like two-way communication, to create new solutions like next-generation energy-efficiency and demand response. Proprietary communication protocols and closed systems will make the development of such applications difficult, if not impossible. This is why standards like OpenADR have emerged and why smart meter companies like Silver Spring Networks and are building standards-based networks. Now residential energy management firm Tendril has joined the fray, not just signing on to the OpenADR bandwagon, but also opening up their application programming interface (API) to partners so that third-parties can interface with its software and devices. So far, partners include major meter vendors like Silver Spring Networks, Itron, Landis+Gyr, and in-home device companies like Energate and Onzo.
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