Google has started testing a new software application — the Google PowerMeter — designed to give citizens detailed, real-time insights into their home energy consumption.

The idea behind the software is to help people better understand where most of their home energy is consumed, which appliances are wasting energy and how their energy consumption changes from day to night or from season to season.

“Imagine how hard it would be to stick to a budget in a store with no prices,” writes Google engineer Ed Lu. “Well, that’s pretty much how we buy electricity today.”

Lu goes on to add, “(I)n a world where everyone had a detailed understanding of their home energy use, we could find all sorts of ways to save energy and lower electricity bills. In fact, studies show that access to home energy information results in savings between 5-15% on monthly electricity bills. It may not sound like much, but if half of America’s households cut their energy demand by 10 percent, it would be the equivalent of taking eight million cars off the road.”

Now being tested by Googlers, the PowerMeter app will gradually be rolled out to the public in pilot programs as Google forges the necessary partnerships with utility companies and manufacturers, Lu said.

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