Real time home energy monitoring

Imagine a gas pump that didn't tell you the price of the gas you'd just pumped. In this country, I imagine that would cause a near-riot.

Wait, that sounds like my electricity meter! After an $800 utility bill, I became intimately familiar with that meter.

So, in 2005 (and in shock), I put together a simple database to track my own electricity usage. The variation in my daily and hourly usage was enormous. Even modest changes in weather had a big impact. My house used electric radiant heat, and we must have been very popular down at Seattle City Light.

Having access to real-time feedback enabled me to reduce my energy use noticeably. Sometimes, information can be as powerful a tool as extra weather stripping. Commercial versions of real-time energy monitors are available, though fairly expensive at the retail level. I have not seen any examples of utilities promoting or subsidizing energy information systems. I feel this could be a wise and cost effective option to pursue for utilities and governmental agencies.

Here's a graph of my daily electricity usage, put into terms we can all understand: $$$$$$$