Greentech Lead America: San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has unveiled three new apps that utilize the Green Button Connect My Data platform to manage energy use and find new ways to save energy.
Green Button Connect My Data is an automated, more advanced level of the initial Green Button data download tool, and the next step in the industry-led Green Button initiative. SDG&E already offers PowerTools, the first Green Button connect app from this initiative, to its customers.
To access the new apps, customers need to log into My Account in their profile and authorize apps including SolarCity’s Solar Home Energy Graph, EnergyAi and, in the near future the company will be offering Ecova’s Meter Dashboard, to receive and analyze their energy data automatically.
SDG&E has plans to release nearly 20 apps as part of the Green Button Connect initiative this year, the company said.
SolarCity’s Solar Home Energy Graph helps SDG&E customers assess how much of their energy could come from the sun. SDG&E customers who are considering going solar can authorize SolarCity to receive 13 months of the customer’s smart meter energy data, which they can use to evaluate their home’s potential for solar. SolarCity will also email a link to a personalized online home energy graph to the customer.
EnergyAi offers deep analytics that identify energy savings opportunities in commercial, retail, institutional and industrial facilities. EnergyAi charges a $20 fee for this service, which is refundable if the customer is not satisfied. SDG&E does not charge any fees for signing up or for the service itself, and no charges will appear on the customer’s bill.
Using Green Button data provided by SDG&E, Ecova’s Meter Dashboard energy monitoring product incorporates smart meter data allowing businesses to view their energy use. The Meter Dashboard is expected to be available for SDG&E customers this month and provides data visualization tools to help customers quickly identify specific sites that are using more energy than other sites.
To date, more than 20,000 customers have downloaded their energy consumption data with the SDG&E Green Button download tool. Through Green Button Connect My Data, customers can now authorize third parties to securely access their energy usage data on an automated and daily basis.