In honor of my mother's 80th birthday (Happy Birthday, Mom!) I'd like to tell you what she's been thinking about. She's wondering why her utility bill is so high. She thinks the answer might be that she and my father keep the house warmer than they used to. Those who have read prior posts by this author know that this is a good thing. Our home growing up was nearly barbaric in temperature. My parents' neighbors think the issue may be insulation. Polly's son put new insulation in the attic, and this winter has been oodles better than last. Really. Me, I think it might be the refrigerator, or the dryer, or the computer that doesn't ever actually get turned off.
I want to tell my mother all of those things, but we don't have time. There is too much to talk about during my short stay, and my attention to her house is limited to scraping ice off of the walkway and the ramps, and attending to those few things that my brother hasn't yet tackled. So we skip the utility bill for the moment, and I leave. And I feel perfectly awful about it. Just last week, Google announced that it is going to democratize the cold hard facts of home energy efficiency by providing data that will make it easier for everyone to live in a more energy efficient home. I hope Google means to include my parents. Google may want to keep in mind that people who are unlikely ever to upgrade their dryers to Smart Dryers - who probably won't buy software or even upgrade their computers to accept the software that they could download for free - want data now. To be fair, Google didn't say "democratize home energy" - that's something we say at Energy Circle. But people like my parents - smart, engaged citizens who are watching their retirement accounts dwindle before their eyes - need cold hard facts about what's happening in their houses now more than ever. They are more adept than we - considerably so - at conserving energy and taking the steps they need to in order to scrimp and save.
So we are hoping that Google will not focus exclusively on smart utility metering, and will open up opportunities for people who need information now, and will resort to other electricity monitoring devices to get it. For my part, (please don't tell) I'm giving my Dad a TED, the Energy Detective for his birthday at the end of March (his name is TED, so how could I resist?). My guess: the whole neighborhood will bloom with those gadgets before the year is out. How sweet would it be if they could easily compare notes with their neighbors? We have pledged to lend our Energy Circle resources toward making this happen.
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