I think it is going to be an exciting year as we see some of the technologies we have been talking about released, and the potential energy savings realized.

I spoke with a friend in England this afternoon. It has been 6 months since we last spoke, a DIY technology enthusiast to the core. To my surprise, without a word from me, he had dug out the free monitor he had been given some time back by their utility, and had it monitoring their home energy use, moment by moment.

A real case of “data driven optimization” he said to me, and I had to agree. I do not think it was the money, or even the “pure sense of saving” was has caught his interest. I think it was being empowered to make choices that had simply not been available earlier.

Chris from Rainforest may well be correct when he said we need to get the costs down, give the monitors away, and get the consumers engaged.

Smart grid, smart meters, I think we are ready for you now!