Make the Most of Your Energy Use by Clicking the Green Button
Looking back at the past 20 years, think how the energy industry
has evolved. It used to be that a representative from the power
company would walk the neighborhood once a month to take a
reading of the rolling dial on your analog electricity meter and
send it in to the office. With technological advancements like
smart meters, these readings are now easier to gather
electronically, and the information provided is easier to
interpret—allowing homeowners to be more aware of their usage.
And now it is possible to monitor your energy usage data in real
time! A new initiative is under way in the United States called
the Green Button. Green Button is based on the idea that
electricity consumers should be able to download their household
energy usage data securely and directly from the provider, in a
standardized format. The initiative comes in response to a 2011
call to action by the White House to reduce energy consumption
by 5–15% over the course of t