14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's home energy conservation Cloud application is now live and accessible to all users. The Redmond company initially introduced Hohm in late June 2009, but at that time it offered only select testers a taste of the app. This is no longer the case. The software giant is allowing users everywhere to start monitoring energy consumption in their household with Hohm. Just head over at the Hohm home page and sign-up, to start saving, as Microsoft puts it. Users will need a Windows Live ID in order to access the website, and will also have to provide the company with their postal code in order for Hohm to supply information on local energy cost for a specific location.
“Microsoft Hohm is a free online beta application that helps you save energy and money. With Microsoft Hohm you can better understand your home energy usage, get recommendations to conserve energy and start saving. As with any recommendation engine, Hohm will provide increasingly more accurate and relevant suggestions for energy conservation as its users contribute home energy input and feedback. One of the objectives during our beta period is to refine our tool and further increase the value our product can offer to you,” revealed a member of the Hohm team.
My Hohm Center greets the user first with an invitation to find out just how energy-efficient their home is. In this regard, Hohm provides the possibility to put together Home Profiles. “When you fill out your home profile and connect with your energy provider, you will receive a customized home energy report and energy-saving recommendations,” the Redmond company promises.
Based on the home profile, Microsoft will provide a tailored set of recommendations designed to help save energy. By default, for a 1% complete profiles there “are 13 suggestions to improve your home’s energy efficiency based on your current home profile which is 1% complete. Hohm's recommendations will be more accurate when you complete your home profile. You can add items to your "to do" list, mark items as completed, or take an item off the list if it is not applicable to your home. Additionally, you can select views from one of the three lists. As with any recommendations product, Hohm will improve as more people use our beta.”
The Hohm Cloud application is also designed to let users monitor their energy usage, with a focus on electricity and gas consumption, but also become an integral part of the community of Hohm members.