LONDON (Reuters) - Google is soon to roll out free software
that allows consumers to track their home electricity use and improve
energy efficiency in a bid to help mitigate global warming.
Dan Reicher, Director for Climate Change and Energy Initiatives
Google, told Reuters it was in talks with utilities companies in the
United Sates, Europe and Asia to make the product available shortly to
general consumers.
As part of its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Google
said in February it would use its software skills for the program that
will show home energy consumption in real time on a user's computer or
a telephone.
"It will get rolled out very soon to regular energy consumers," Reicher said, without providing exact timings.
"When I began getting information about my own home, I discovered
that I had a 35-year electric motor running for my heating system. That
was using huge amount of electricity. I did not realize that's the
change I need to make in my home."
The company cited studies showing that access to home energy
information typically saves between 5 percent and 15 percent on monthly
electricity bills.
"The beauty of the tool we are developing is that is going to be an open source," Reicher said.
(Reporting by Nao Nakanishi; Editing by Keiron Henderson)
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