Efficiency Vermont to participate in national “Green Button” initiative
Burlington, VT
Efficiency Vermont today announced that it will participate in the Green Button initiative, a national effort to provide Smart Grid-based energy usage information to consumers in a standard format. Consumers can use this information to help them make informed decisions about how to save money and energy through a variety of Green Button-compatible apps.
“Green Button is an innovative approach to helping consumers get the most of the Smart Grid,” said Efficiency Vermont Director Jim Merriam. “It will provide Vermont businesses and families with the ability to better understand their energy use, and take actions to save money and energy. Efficiency Vermont is excited to be part of this initiative to help Vermonters take control of their energy use and costs.”
Launched in January, Green Button is based on a consensus industry standard that was created through a public-private partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Green Button is fostering innovation by providing a standard format for the exchange and management of energy usage data. Third-party app developers can use this information to create a wide variety of creative tools for consumers to better understand their energy use, and how they can take actions to conserve energy and use it more efficiently.
The U.S. Department of Energy recently concluded an “Apps for Energy” contest that awarded $100,000 in prizes for the best Green Button apps. A gallery of the contest winners can be found at http://appsforenergy.challenge.gov/. A full listing of all Green Button apps (currently 64 and counting) can be found at http://en.openei.org/apps/. With Green Button, Vermonters will be able to make use of any of these apps. Efficiency Vermont will provide independent recommendations for specific apps that Vermonters might find especially useful and effective.
Efficiency Vermont’s support for Green Button builds on its recent work to focus on how consumers can maximize the benefits of Vermont’s $138 million investment in Smart Grid infrastructure across the state. This includes participation in two consumer pilot initiatives, one of which is specifically focused on low-income consumers, to better understand what types of energy use and cost information are most effective in leading to savings.
The Green Button icon will be accessible at www.efficiencyvermont.com in mid - 2013. Today’s announcement coincides with a national announcement on the growing adoption of the Green Button standard by utilities across the nation.
About Efficiency Vermont
As the nation’s first Energy Efficiency Utility, Efficiency Vermont has helped Vermont avoid over 13.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence award for the last eight consecutive years. Efficiency Vermont works with partners to help our state transition to more affordable, low carbon energy use through education, incentives, and support for our clean energy workforce. Learn more at www.efficiencyvermont.com.
Efficiency Vermont Press Contact
Matthew Smith
Phone: (802) 540-7662
[email protected]