Microsoft debuts Hohm Score; guilts you into energy efficiency
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What's your Hohm Score?"
That's what Microsoft is hoping some 60 million American homeowners will be asking their neighbors after debuting its new home energy efficiency metric on Wednesday.
The score is a part of the company's free online home energy management tool of the same name.
According to Microsoft, the average Hohm Score in the U.S. -- 61 -- is failing.
The most efficient states are the following:
- Hawaii (81)
- Delaware (70)
- Maryland (70)
- District of Columbia (68)
- New Jersey (67)
The most deficient (ahem) states are the following:
- Arkansas (53)
- Oklahoma (52)
- Nevada (51)
- Tennessee (51)
- Texas (51)
That's right: the best state in the union only managed a B- on its energy efficiency test, and the fourth and fifth best each achieved D+.
The score is calculated by comparing a home's actual and potential energy efficiency using analytics licensed from Lawrence Berkeley National Labs and statistical data from the Department of Energy.
Hohm Scores are available by individual homes, ZIP code, city and state so you can compare yourself with your locale of choice.
"The Hohm Score is the first step in helping us all make smarter decisions about our home energy use," Hohm project manager Troy Batterberry said in a statement. "If each of the 60 million households improved their Hohm Score by five points, collectively that would equal an estimated $8 billion in savings a year."
See the image above to see the Hohm Score for a certain famous resident of Los Angeles, Calif. (Here's a hint: It's always swinging at his house.)
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com