Microsoft Hohm

Hohm called out as leader

(Unknown) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:14:21 GMT

Today I have to float our boat a little bit because the Hohm team has been working very hard and that hard work is paying off. In the past couple of weeks the team added about a dozen new recommendations (including zero cost options), zip code analysis of energy consumption across the U.S. and a detailed breakdown of energy consumption room by room.

It’s exciting when that effort is being called out in coverage. Fast Company just did a piece on the release of Google’s API for Power Meter with a nice nod to Microsoft: “Google Releases PowerMeter API to Developers, Following Microsoft's Lead”, and ZDNet recently called out Microsoft’s efforts to help bring energy efficiency home. It’s nice to see some recognition for the Hohm team since they’ve been making these adjustments as fast as possible using the recommendations by the community.

As we keep on moving forward we’re really looking to make Hohm the site that you want. Give us your feedback, positive and negative (constructively!) and get involved here on the blog or on Facebook and Twitter.

A Lump of Coal for Your Thoughts?

(Unknown) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:46:05 GMT

In my previous post, I asked the question: Do recent weather events and news reports have you reconsidering global warming? Rather than answering the question directly, I asked the broader question: How do we know what we think we know? So, continuing the thread of skeptical inquiry, let’s turn a critical mind toward climate science.

The Carbon Cycle [Image Source: http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/green/cycles6.htm]

The basic science behind the greenhouse effect is both long-established and non-controversial. First, we know that carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) that, in our atmosphere, create the greenhouse effect that makes life on earth possible. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “If all of these greenhouse gases were to suddenly disappear, our planet would be 60°F colder and would not support life as we know it.”

There is a natural, balanced carbon cycle in nature that maintains this beneficial greenhouse effect. However, since humans first learned to clear forests with fire and cultivate crops – but in particular since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution – humans have been upsetting the natural balance by adding GHGs to earth’s atmosphere. We began upsetting this balance in earnest when human civilizations started mining massive amounts of solar energy stored over millions of years in the form of oil, coal, and natural gas. Burning these ancient solar stores produces energy, but it also produces GHGs and a host of worse things that we wind up breathing, eating, and drinking. (I plan to address some of the controversies behind anthropogenic, or human-caused, “global warming” in my next post.)

According to the International Energy Agency, the fossil fuels oil, coal, and natural gas currently provide over 80% of the world’s energy needs. But there is a finite amount of this ancient stored solar power in the ground. In addition to adding toxins to our environment and upsetting the balance of the earth’s life-support systems, if we continue to draw down this natural capital we will one day find ourselves “bankrupt” as surely as if we were draining a bank account.

Which brings me to my Microsoft Hohm Book of the Week… Coal: A Human History by Barbara Freese. Coal had its place in history. Among the fascinating historical perspectives mentioned in the BookBrowse.com summary (“It made China a twelfth-century superpower, inspired the writing of the Communist Manifesto, and helped the northern states win the American Civil War”), we discovered coal just in time to prevent a rapidly-growing human population from wiping out most of our temperate forests to satisfy our hunger for energy. However, coal’s darker side was evident as early as 1306, when England’s King Edward I tried to ban coal burning (unsuccessfully) because it led to noxious “great stinking fogs.”

Here in the present, in light of these facts about toxins, natural capital, and GHGs, powering our homes and offices with fossil fuels requires us to re-address the roles of oil, coal, and natural gas in our energy portfolio. Tools like Microsoft Hohm assist us not just by saving money, but more fundamentally by reducing our energy demands. By reducing our energy demands, we will reduce the amount of natural capital being withdrawn from our planetary bank account—and thus reduce the amount of GHGs currently overloading our planetary life-support systems.

Blog post from - Kyle G. Crider He has a B.S. degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Alabama and a Master of Public Administration degree in Urban Planning & Policy Analysis from UAB, where he’s currently in the Interdisciplinary Engineering Ph.D. program.

Hohm Zips Up The Nation

(Unknown) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:11:08 GMT

Ever wonder how San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago compare when it comes down to energy consumption? Or how your neighborhood compares to that of your brother-in-law’s? Now you can! Today we’re launching the Hohm zip code pages for every zip code in the country -- all 42,000+ of them. You can also see common energy savings tips for your area, or check out different scenarios for energy consumption based on zip code, home age and size. We’re very excited to provide these and other improvements you (the community) has suggested.

Click for larger image

Here are some initial stats on how much San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York could be saving the on their utility bill if they simply implemented recommendations provided by Microsoft Hohm:

San Francisco: up to $430 or 17%
Los Angeles: up to $370 or 20%
Chicago: up to $310 or 11%
New York: up to $510 or 14%

And to answer what I know will be the next question, the area with the highest energy bills in the nation is Alaska, with upwards of $8000 a year.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be diving into the hard numbers to show how cities around the nation could save energy and money within their home so stay tuned.

Cool stuff to take note of: An additional two dozen behavior recommendations have been added that will help you save energy and money in your home. Some of these behavior suggestions include taking shorter showers, appliance power tips and making sure you fix leaky faucets.

Definitely check out the Energy Breakdown View in the Hohm profile. Now you can see a lot more detailed information about where you are using energy in your home. Not sure if you should change out your bedroom light bulbs to CFLs? Hohm can tell you approximately how much energy and money you’re consuming in each room.

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So take a look yourself and reach out to us if you have any questions or suggestions. Tell us what you find interesting and we may share your story on this blog!