Developing a visual energy consumption assessment tool for homeowners

In recent years, an ensuing energy crisis has increased concern over home energy expenditures. Homeowners, through just their power meter or electricity bills, will know how much energy they consume over any given month. With just an energy bill, there is little to tell which devices in the home are consuming the most energy. Through the University of Virginia´s ecoMOD project, several energy efficient houses have been designed and built. Low-income families now reside in these homes, allowing the project team to gather information on families who have limited financial ability to save energy. In an attempt to solve the problem, the ecoMOD project also included the installation of a monitoring system, which records energy data readings through special sensors. Through this monitoring data, the ecoMOD team performed analyses in order to both determine where a homeowner uses the most energy and to provide an energy-efficient solution geared towards lowering consumption. In addition, the team is in the process of producing a graphical user interface to give homeowners a detailed view where energy is most likely to be expended unnecessarily. This web application will be designed specifically to use the data gathered to encourage the homeowner to notice and take action upon ways they can save significant amounts of energy. This combination of detailed information feedback and customized energy solutions will give the ecoMOD homeowner tools they can use to make a conscious step towards energy sustainability.