Microsoft Discontinuing Its Energy-Efficient Tool For Homes

• May 24, 2012

by UrbanTurf Staff

Microsoft Hohm, a free tool that calculates a property’s estimated energy efficiency based on its size and location, will be discontinued at the end of the month. According to Microsoft, the product is being discontinued “due to the slow overall market adoption of the service.”

When Hohm was introduced back in 2010, it seemed like a cool tool for the eco-conscious home buyer. Registered users could enter a property address and see basic information about the size of a home, the sources of energy used, estimated annual energy usage and costs, potential savings, and a Hohm Score which provides a metric for rating the overall energy efficiency of the property. The scores ranged from 0 to 100, the closer to 100 the more energy efficient your home. (The DC average is 67.) Hohm also allowed users to enter their power and gas providers, which the application then pulled monthly energy usage information from to, among other things, analyze how patterns compared to others in the area.

Profile of home in DC with a Hohm Score of 67

Along with a score, Hohm gave some standard suggestions for improving efficiency, such as using CFL light bulbs and turning the temperature down on your water heater, as well as other information on savings in the form of federal grants, tax credits, and rebates for efficient appliances. All these recommendations were tailored to the home being analyzed.

One of the big downsides of Hohm was that it did not include energy-efficient scores for a number of condos and coops in the District.

While Microsoft is discontinuing Hohm, it says it will continue to develop “products and solutions that span a wide spectrum of industries, such as power generation, distribution grids, buildings and transportations systems.”

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/microsoft_discontinuing_its_energy-efficient_tool_for_homes/5580