One of the biggest hurdles standing between Google and wide adoption of its home energy management system PowerMeter -- a service that makes your electricity consumption and pricing data available on the web -- is that it depended on the broad roll out of smart meters (advanced meters capable of transmitting data to utilities and customers in real time). With only a small percentage of smart meters in the field, this won't be a reality for a while.
But today, Google announced a new partnership with Energy Inc., a provider of home energy measurement devices that negate the need for smart meters. Now homeowners and businesses that want to use PowerMeter to keep tabs on how much energy they're using won't have to wait for their local utilities to install smart meters. Instead, they can buy one of Energy Inc.'s monitoring devices called the TED 5000 (short for The Energy Detective), for $200. This monitor makes the data you want available via any internet browser and any computer, all for free after initial purchase.
The deal between Google (actually its philanthropic arm, Google.org) and Energy Inc. didn't include financial terms, and the search engine will continue to work with its utility partners to integrate PowerMeter with the smart meters they are rolling out. This flock includes TXU Energy in Texas, Wisconsin Public Service, Reliance Energy, San Diego Gas & Electric and Yello Strom in Germany. It also works with leading smart meter maker Itron. So far, Energy Inc. is Google's only device partner, but it's looking for others. People who already own a TED 5000 can install a firmware upgrade to make it compatible with PowerMeter.
VentureBeat reported on the Energy Detective back in March when it first launched. The system includes a transmission unit that connects directly into a building's circuit breakers and a compact screen display that plugs into any electrical unit. This component tells you how many kilowatts you are using and how much your energy consumption at any given moment is costing per hour, as well as how much money you've spent on energy in the month to date. This is actionable information that people can use to slash their energy use and their bills.
The field of home energy power monitors is getting pretty crowded. Greenbox (recently acquired by Silver Spring Networks), EnergyHub, Onzo, Tendril, OpenPeak and Blue Line Innovations all make dashboards providing digestible data on power use. For the most part, the Energy Detective has been at the back of this pack, not attracting much notice and lacking the colorful, swanky interfaces of some of its competitors. This new deal with Google obviously elevates its status.
Just last week, Google mentioned that it was on the lookout for new partners, going as far as to say that it would recruit a device partner by the end of the year. At that time, it must have already known about Energy Inc. It also plans to bring in about a dozen more utility partners -- so expect a flurry of similar announcements soon.
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