Who Will Compete Against Google’s PowerMeter?

Google has 227 news articles on their PowerMeter feature.  Sounds like they have a monopoly on mindshare. In less than 24 hours they have 227 news articles.

Google introduces power meter software to reduce electricity use
Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - 21 hours ago
By Claudine Beaumont The Google PowerMeter software will analyse the consumption information captured by "smart meters", and translate it into ...
Google announces PowerMeter Computerworld
Google Impacts Your Electric Bill Seattle Post Intelligencer
Google tool helps consumers reduce energy usage Reuters
The Tech Herald - National Business Review
all 227 news articles » GOOG

I was down for a quick chat with google yesterday, but their PR group was slammed, and I’ll have to catch them another time.

Someone asked me who the competition is, and I don’t think anyone has a chance.  I don’t think Amazon would get into this service.  Microsoft?  Here is one blog post that is wrong.


The battle has begun. Software developers everywhere are quickly realizing that the market for energy management applications has enormous potential. But although it’s worthwhile to watch the smaller companies and see if any one of them comes out with the next breakthrough, when players like Google and Microsoft jump into the mix, you know that their product will get far more exposure in the market.
Google’s product, the Google Powermeter, is directed towards the home energy user. It is a web-based graph which shows you how much energy you have been using over the course of the day, and where that energy is being used. What it does not appear to do is give you the ability to remotely control your appliances. Still, knowing where you use the most energy can make a big difference, as a Google employee testifies in a promotional video – he saved $3,000 in one year without any significant lifestyle changes.
Microsoft, on the other hand, is working on a product that appears more robust, and feature-intensive, but not as simple and easy-to-use as the Powermeter (which isn’t surprising when you consider Outlook versus Gmail). The Environmental Dashboard application for Microsoft Dynamics AX is catered to businesses rather than home energy users. Like the Powermeter, the Environmental Dashboard helps businesses analyze and reduce their energy consumption, but it also helps them measure their greenhouse gas emissions.

There is no comparison between Google PowerMeter and Microsoft’s Environmental Dashboard.  In fact, Microsoft’s dashboard could sit on top of Google’s PowerMeter service.