It’s amazing how much power a little bit of information can have.  We all know that we should check our tire pressure regularly, right?  And we all know that keeping tries properly inflated leads to better fuel economy.  But seriously, how many of us actually bother to buy a pressure gauge and occasionally lean over and check the pressure?  If you have a late model vehicle, however, you probably have tire pressure sensors that warn you when your tires are underinflated.  The government mandated the systems because studies show that having a warning displayed on the dash is just the little push most people need to stop at a gas station and add some air.  Given the information, consumers are much more likely to do the right thing.

Google is working on a project that uses that logic–the “Google PowerMeter” would give you an instantenous online read out of how much electricity you are using.  According to Google, once consumers know how much energy they are using, they are much more likely to figure out ways to use less.  In fact, access to this piece of info will lead to energy savings of 10-15%, they say.

The Google Power Meter will depend on the existence of a “smart meter” from the utility that provides power to your home or business–and the recently passed stimulus package has funding to put these gadgets on 40 million homes over the next few years.

Google calls their Power Meter project part of the “path to smarter power.”  Hmm….that sounds oddly familar…

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