Is There A Future For The Smart Grid?
We’ve all heard tales of the promise of the smart grid, of the fantastic insight, control, and energy savings that the next generation of meters and apps will bring to households across America. Google PowerMeter and Microsoft Hohm launched to much fanfare… only to announce recently that both are shuttering due to lack of rapid adoption. It’s clear that a spark is needed.
The Department of Energy’s “Apps for Energy” challenge is trying to change this. In the last month, it has inspired scores of submissions from software developers across the country to build off the DOE’s new “Green Button” standard, which enables customers to access their energy usage data from their utilities. 15 utilities serving 27 million households have committed to using the Green Button.
The spark we need is better integration. For most of these Green Button apps to work well, you have to log in to your utility account and manually download and import your latest energy usage data every time—a hassle that will keep most people from becoming regular users. This is where our own DOE challenge app, Sparkwire, comes in. You can connect any app to your energy usage data by just telling Sparkwire your utility site login once and letting it automatically import your most recent data whenever it’s needed. Sparkwire is designed to grease the gears of the energy app ecosystem, enabling the efficient flow of Green Button energy data from utilities to the many applications that rely on it, and making it easier all of us to enjoy the benefits of the smart grid.
Please vote for Sparkwire (you don’t have to create an account, just sign in with Facebook or Twitter). You can also vote for other apps that Sparkwire will help make viable.
Here is a video of how it works:
All for the Green Button, VOTE
….. as the green future unfolds.
