Time to check the juice

A handful of home energy management companies showed off their energy display systems at a hearing on broadband and energy held by the FCC on Monday in Cambridge, Mass.

Here is EnergyHub's dashboard, which is being tested at three utilities in the U.S. The small display gives people a way to quickly see how much electricity they are using at a given time. By giving people regular information on their usage, they can cut electricity use between 5 and 15 percent, according to studies.

EnergyHub's system is being used in conjunction with smart meters in its initial trials, but energy information can also be gathered by creating a wireless home-area network. The display has a Zigbee wireless chip that can communicate with a networked thermostat and smart plugs (see on left). That network also allows people to program appliances and ratchet down energy use as part of demand-response programs run by utilities. EnergyHub is selling its products through utilities initially, but it expects the retail cost to be about $250 for the display and thermostat and $35 for Zigbee-enabled plugs.