Microsoft Launches Home Energy Monitoring Tools

Microsoft would like you to become more energy efficient – and they would like to get you there. A brand new, and free, trial application called Microsoft Hohm allows users to monitor and understand how they are using energy in their homes. It will also make suggestions on how users can cut consumption, manage their energy – and save money.

Hohm prepares a personalized energy report, with personalized recommendations. It asks why, when, and how much energy you use, and determine where energy can be cut back, and where home improvements can be made. It also reveals your total annual energy costs; helpful graphs and pie charts make the results easier to understand.

The website is filled with tips on how homeowners can reduce energy and money wastage. There is also a community for Holm members who can support each other, give each other suggestions, feedback, and words of advice.

Microsoft has partnered with four west coast utilities for the project: Puget Sound Energy, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Seattle City Light and Xcel Energy. Customers of these utilities will have a more in-depth energy report.

If the name Hohm conjures images of yogic meditation, you might be on the wrong track; the developer of the software says the unusual spelling is a pun; the electrical unit of resistance is Ohm.

However, one might argue that the software’s purpose is to live in greater harmony; something with rather “Omm”-like qualities.