Google and open source want to make us OCD on energy

It's still good to be a little Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) on energy use, even if your politics are to the right of Rush Limbaugh, because there's money in saving, money you can spend on cigars or vacations. Or food.

So I was pleased to see my little business interrupted last week by a Georgia Power contractor installing a new digital power meter on my house (right).

For the power company the benefits are obvious. No more tramping out to Winter Avenue every month to read the meter, waking up the neighbor's dogs and putting the Neighborhood Watch on edge.

For me the benefits were less obvious until later in the day, when Google announced they would open source their PowerMeter API.

The API lets companies like The Energy Detective integrate their offerings directly into meters like the bad boy Georgia Power has just delivered.

While I have invested a lot of money in insulation over the last five years, this could let me find where my remaining heat sinks are. The power company itself might now want to offer that service.

Whether this comes to me as a device or as a paid service, open source is providing an incentive for it to be offered. This won't provide the savings of insulating your attic, but it will cost you a lot less, and thus its return on investment should be quicker.