Posted by: kurtsh | July 1, 2009

BETA: Microsoft Hohm, home energy conservation & usage application

Here’s a few notes about Microsoft Hohm.

clip_image002What is Microsoft Hohm?
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.

Microsoft Hohm uses advanced analytics licensed from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Department of Energy to give you personalized energy saving recommendations. These recommendations are tailored based on your specific household circumstances including home attributes and use of appliances and systems. You will also be able to compare your energy usage to that of others in your area. In this beta version, the Microsoft Hohm team will learn from its users and communities and will make improvements to the site and analytics.

Microsoft Hohm helps utilities to better serve their customers by providing clear insight into their energy consumption, allowing them to make more informed decisions to save energy and money.

How does Microsoft Hohm work?
After signing up for Microsoft Hohm with your Windows Live ID and postal code, you simply enter some information about your home (e.g., occupants, appliances and systems) and receive your energy report with personalized recommendations. The more information you provide, the more accurate and relevant the recommendations will be. As a default, Hohm will base its recommendations on local and national averages.

Alternatively, if you are a customer of a Hohm-partnered utility company you can choose to automatically upload your energy usage data into the application in the near future.

The recommendations will be refined as the beta application evolves with feedback from users, their communities and the energy industry.


On average, how much money will Microsoft Hohm help me save on my energy bill?
The financial savings varies widely based on the information you provide on your Microsoft Hohm profile, the characteristics of your household and the changes you implement. Customers are encouraged to run the Hohm application to determine the potential savings for their household. Note that this beta version of Hohm will be evolving over time, so initial recommendations may not optimal.

How can I get Microsoft Hohm?

Hohm is an online Microsoft application available at no cost to anyone in the United States with Internet access and a modern Internet browser (e.g., Internet Explorer 7 or later, Firefox, Safari). It can be accessed from the Microsoft Hohm Web site,

Who is Microsoft Hohm for? Who do you expect will find it useful?
Microsoft Hohm is for residential consumers of energy wanting to save money and reduce their impact on the environment. We hope to hear your story on how you are saving and what you would like to see next.

For more information go to our website at

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