Pilgrim's progress: Smart meter pilots advance in Massachusetts

Given all the backlash against smart meter pilots around the country, I've been poking around for pockets of specific feedback. There are actually several initiatives going on in Massachusetts that are using technology from GroundedPower, which is described as a customer engagement and social networking platform for energy efficiency.

I may be biased in this matter, but I am particularly interested in pilots centered in areas of the country where the temperatures aren't as temperate as you might find in communities in California or Texas. Yes, it gets very hot in those states, but it gets, hot and humid, and cold and icy in the Northeast. How well do smart meter and smart grid projects work in climates where the temperature fluctuations are more drastic on a historical basis?

One answer to that question lies in the preliminary results from the Cape Light Compact's Residential Smart Home Energy Monitoring Pilot, which has been going on for about a year now. In April, an independent auditor (PA Consulting Group) reported that the 100 active participants on Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard had reduced their daily energy use by 9.3 percent, which is about 2.9 kilowatt hours per day. Approximately three-quarters of the participants reduced energy consumption during the course of the project, and one-third of those participants reduced usage by more than 4 kilowatt hours per days.

The Cape Light Compact's project used in-home monitoring systems by GroundedPower, which consists of an Internet dashboard that provides real-time viewing of actual energy consumption, along with opportunities for energy savings activities. The participants could also see the consumption habits of their neighbors, which makes things more interesting if you're nosy or competitive. There are social networking features associated with the application, so participants can share tips.

Here's some specific perspective from one of the pilot participants, Jeff Treiber of Dennis, Mass., (his comment is part of the press release I've linked to above):

"Cape Light Compact's program now gives me the information I need to make more informed choices. The real-time feedback and energy-saving advice support my efforts to reduce energy use in my home every day. Plus, it's fun; other pilot participants are in the same system, facing the same challenges, and 'competing' for points, which help motivate us to stay engaged. I've consistently exceeded my goal of saving 25 percent over last year's electrical use and that has meant a reduction in cost of more than $80 per month."

It's a good thing he is happy, since Cape Light Compact is pushing for a three-year energy efficiency program that it hopes will save up to $4 billion as part of a statewide initiative that was okayed back at the end of January. The effort actually is supposed to result in net savings of $6 billion, but it calls for about $1.8 billion in investment. The primary focus is to ensure that the communities covered by the program have done all they can do in terms of energy efficiency and cutting demand BEFORE they go off and purchase new electricity from other sources. Cape Light Compact represents the interests of more than 20 towns on Cape Cod and the Vineyard; about 200,000 residents.

GroundedPower is also at the center of a pilot going on in Wellsley, Mass., which is experimenting with energy efficiency and reduction efforts at several municipal buildings and schools. I spoke with one of the program managers to find out a bit more about the new-ish pilot.

Richard Joyce, director of the Wellesley municipal light plant, says early participants are motivated by the alerts they see from the GroundedPower dashboard that tell them when optimal consumption levels have been exceeded. This is a small project, mind you, and there hasn't been much specific feedback yet. "It was a great exchange of information," Joyce says. "Everyone who was a participant really got into it."

Joyce says the technology and the program have become a teaching tool in the elementary school; not only are the children being encouraged to participate, but information is being sent home to parents.

The town is aiming to cut energy usage by 20 percent in its municipal buildings before the year 2013; the goal for residential buildings is 10 percent. Joyce says the town will use the GroundedPower dashboard to gauge the exact impact of each system in the building; when I spoke with him in May, he said a plan called for the entire building will be shut down and "rebooted" in the coming months, so that the amount of power associated with each system (ie, airconditioning, data center) can be assessed accurately.

Carl Gustin, founder and president of GroundedPower, says smart meter projects have shown that usage information in and of itself isn't really a motivator for people to cut their power consumption. The fact is, many households don't watch their electricity consumption to start. The three main motivators in successful smart meter projects have been the following:

1. A direct correlation between pricing and usage
2. The participant household's overall concern about climate change
3. The ability to see what the Joneses up the street are doing

The GroundedPower technology integrates with a number of other emerging smart grid technologies, he says, so that it can display specific information on the appliances in your kitchen (as an example) or just how much power that gaming system is using.

"The more active that people are with the system, the deeper their savings become. The more familiar they become with their usage, the more they learn about climate change," Gustin says.