Google Demonstration Project
A number of Google employees have been beta-testing Google PowerMeter, and we've heard some interesting stories that illustrate the power of personal access to energy information.
| "I put the sound system, DVD player and VCR on power strips. I learned that my computer wasn't sleeping properly, and started putting it on Standby when not in use. I cleaned the coils in my refrigerator (which hadn't been cleaned in 15 years! Yikes!). Before I made these changes, my baseline load was around 360 W, afterwards, it was slightly under 200 W - this will save me about $150 / year." |
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| Alec, Mechanical Engineer |
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| "The dishwasher turned out to be a big energy hog. We now wait to load it fully before starting it. Or, if it's just a couple of dishes, we wash them by hand. When we turned on our space heater, we were amazed by its power consumption. It definitely gives one a perspective on a true cost of using a $20 space heater." |
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| Vlad, Software Engineer |
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| "My apartment is in the basement near the building's shared washer and dryer. After installing Google PowerMeter, I saw very large spikes that I could not correlate with any of my activities. Eventually I realized that my electric meter included the building's washer and dryer - I was paying for all the laundry done in my building! Without Google PowerMeter, I never would have figured this out." |
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| Lindsey, Program Manager |
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| "I saw the huge spikes caused by washer/dryer use, so now I make sure each wash load is full. I also noticed spikes when the home heater would turn on even when we weren't home, so I made slight adjustments to the timer to better align with our schedule. It's amazing that taking such simple steps has reduced our energy consumption by more than 10%." |
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| Marvin, Hardware Engineer
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