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Google Wants to Monitor Your Domestic Power Usage

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Google already knows more about you than you probably care to think about. In the not too distant future, they might also know about your power usage patterns. Google’s PowerMeter utility monitoring service has finally found its first partners. First Utility in the UK, and Yello Strom, a German utility, have both signed up to deliver customer usage data to Google (provided the customer agrees).

PowerMeter will collect electricity data every half hour and gas data once a day. Customers can view the aggregated data on the PowerMeter website where it will have been used to generate some nifty graphs and tables. Participating customers will receive the service at no charge.

The hope is that PoweMeter users will be more conscious of their energy use. Yello Strom executive director, Martin Vesper, said of the service, “When people know exactly what is going on with their energy usage, they can use energy efficiently without sacrificing convenience.” Google indicated that PowerMeter is a project from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic foundation. So, would you sign up if you could?

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COMMENTS
avatarAlready using something similar

I already use a whole house electricity meter called The Energy Detective. It's been really useful in helping me figure out how much energy we waste. I found out that my house was pulling near 200 watts even when I thought Nothing was on! I started eliminating unused but plugged in transformers wherever I could. Now I'm down to 80 watts standby power. That's about a $14/month savings! Having a history record and nice graphs on google would be even better!

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avatarNOT. A. CHANCE.

I can't believe anyone would think this a good idea.

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avatarYup

Yup

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avatar yes, yes i

 yes, yes i would

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