What is the Green Button Initiative?
Launched in January 2012, the Green Button Initiative provides utility customers with their home energy usage data, directly from the utility’s website. Just click the green button icon and go.
With this information at their fingertips, consumers would be enabled to make more informed decisions about their energy use and, when coupled with opportunities to take action, empowered to actively manage their energy use. – U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra
How will the Green Button Initiative work for you?
Having your home energy usage data is good. What you can do with it is even better. Data from your utility company about your own energy usage can help you reduce high energy costs. You can see exactly what you’re spending on heating, cooling, and hot water. Understanding your home energy costs is the first step toward using home energy efficiency to reduce those costs. It may be as simple as changing the way you use your home, or you may decide to hire a professional to complete a whole house energy audit.
According to the Department of Energy, which is advising utilities and businesses on data standards and program implementation, only 35 companies currently support the Green Button Initiative. More have pledged to do so, and many others will join the program in the future.