Google Kills PowerMeter

[pirulo123]

I just heard the news yesterday.
This product had a great niche in the hacking/ee community but never took off in the mainstream community, what happened?, what is wrong? what message does this abrupt end send to the companies looking after "the internet of things" ?
I really thought it was a good product for everyone.
What really happened ?

Regards.

[Alex]

Most people dont understand what power is and to be frank, they don't give a toss. They just want to pay less for electricty while everything is left ON. Yes, people think 'it would be nice' to reduce energy consumption save the planet bla bla bla but are not really willing to take steps, like buying a power meter.

Cynical? I was at a conference the other month, what is the motivation for Euro 6 emission regulations for passenger cars you think? Well, for every extra gram of CO2 the car produces when it leaves the factory floor the manufacturer will be charges a 3 digit figure as penalty.

I am sure it looked really good on the whiteboard given all the 'green revolution' and Google wanting to stick their nose in every revolution, but the truth is, not many will want to buy one, even more the ones electricity companies give you 'for free'.

This is why, IMO, the Google power meter failed.

[sacherjj]

It may also be that the first I remember hearing about it was when I started hearing about it being scrapped. 

Although, I'm not surprised that the system to let Google keep all your medical data wasn't used by many.  No surprise at all there.

[saturation]

I think it failed because you need to get the power companies to buy in and send your consumption data to them; you also need a smartmeter monitoring your consumption.   

[cybergibbons]

They've been giving energy monitors away in the UK for years. I think about 2% of households use them. So there is no problem with monitoring it here.

[Simon]

who needs a power meter ? just understand what things use and don't use them unnecessarily

[saturation]

A powermeter gives you a real look at consumption, rather than theoretical.  You can plan consumption better.  I cut my power consumption 2/3 by using a simple plug in power meter, with barely an effect on my life style.  I now pay under 1/3rd what my normal bill was and the waste was mostly standby consumption of my stereo, many brick power supplies, my PC ... just having it sleep faster made a huge difference,  turning my water heater on only when I'm home ... etc.,

The Atten 858D hot air workstation reviewed by Dave is rated at 700W, but in practice that's only the peak consumption; on average its 400W on maximum air flow, but it drops to 100W at under setting 5 airflow.  Further by watching its power curve the temperature listed in Celsius is roughly what the average consumption in watts is; so its very helpful in characterizing its performance.

I recently got my cable system upgraded, and to my amazement when I shut the cable box off, the power consumption does not change!  Its perpetually on.  So, I now hooked these up to a mechanical switch which truly turns it off.  This is a known problem is US cable suppliers:

http://www.dailytech.com/Study+US+Cable+BoxesDVRs+Fail+at+Energy+Efficiency+/article22007.htm

[Zero999]

Most people dont understand what power is and to be frank, they don't give a toss. They just want to pay less for electricty while everything is left ON

Same for people who whine about the price of fuel but drive at 90mph continuously.

If you want to save money, turn your appliances off. If you want to save fuel, allow plenty of time for your journey and drive at 60mph.

Of course there's what's practical. There are some appliances you might want on standby such as wifi, just like you can't drive at one speed without stopping.