Communications of the ACM
Dept. of Energy Announces 'apps For Energy' Winners
Credit: Fred R. Conrad
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the first round of winners for its "Apps for Energy" competition, in which app developers submitted more than 50 mobile and web applications designed to help utility consumers save money by making the most of the industry's "Green Button" electricity usage data. Winners were selected by a panel of expert reviewers; Popular Choice awards will also be announced after the conclusion of a public voting period — which began May 17 and continues until 8 p.m. on May 31.
"We're pleased to see such a strong response to our call for innovative new apps that will save consumers money by saving energy," said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "This is about giving consumers easy access to information so they can make sense of their electricity bill — and more importantly, reduce their electricity bill."
Developers competing in "Apps for Energy" created apps that are designed to make the best use of the data provided through President Obama's Green Button initiative, which recently announced that nine major utilities and electricity suppliers will provide more than 31 million customers access to data about their own energy use.
Eligible apps included those for mobile phones, computers, tablets, software programs, and more — providing new tools for consumers to understanding their electricity usage, take action, and make better-informed decisions.
The winning apps — which are sharing prize money provided jointly by the Dept. of Energy and three private sector cosponsors of the competition — were announced by Senior Energy Department Official Patricia Hoffman this week at an industry gathering in Santa Clara, Calif.
Hoffman also announced new funding partnerships with utilities, local governments, and communities to create programs that empower consumers to better manage their electricity use through improved access to their own electricity consumption data.
Winners for the "Apps for Energy" competition are:
Best Overall App Grand Prize: Leafully
This application is the brainchild of a Seattle-based team, Timothy Edgar and Nathan Jhaver, who describe themselves as "two developers with an idea." Their app submission, Leafully, helps utility customers visualize their Green Button data as a variety of units, such as the amount of trees needed to offset an individual's energy usage. Leafully encourages users to set energy savings goals and to share their progress on Facebook.
Best Overall App Second Prize: Melon
Washington, D.C.-based startup Melon says it is the first company to utilize Green Button data to simplify the process of obtaining an Energy Star benchmark for commercial buildings. The app uses Green Button to evaluate the energy performance of commercial buildings. By providing basic information about the building and its energy usage, the app delivers an Energy Star score and recommendations on reducing energy waste and saving money.
Best Overall App Third Prize: VELObill
The VELObill app from Zerofootprint, a cleantech software and services company in New York, N.Y., helps utility customers view their energy usage, measure whether it is high or low, and compare it to that of their peers. With this information in hand, users can create an energy saving action plan tailored to their individual needs and preferences.
Best Student App Grand Prize: wotz
The wotz app, submitted by a team of students at the University of California at Irvine, lets users explore and play with Green Button data. It provides several games based on the "shape" of a user's data, and provides creative comparisons to illustrate the usage, like how many cheeseburgers worth of energy were used last Tuesday from 5-6 pm.
Best Student App Second Prize: Budget It Yourself; Cleveland, Ohio
The Budget it Yourself app is a collaborative project by a team of students at Case Western Reserve and the Cleveland Institute of Art. The app helps users track their energy usage and make energy-savings goals.
The team that developed the best overall application, Leafully, won $30,000. Second place, Melon, won $15,000, and third, VELObill, won $7,500. The winner of the public vote will receive $8,000 and second place will be awarded $4,000. Selections for the Popular Choice Awards and Peak Energy Usage Award will be announced on June 6, 2012.
The public can view profiles of the competing apps and vote once a day for the Consumers Pick winners at http://appsforenergy.challenge.gov.
Panelists drawn from government and the energy and tech communities evaluated the apps. The panel included:
- Karen Austin, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
- Patricia Hoffman, Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Energy Department
- Sharelynn Moore, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Itron Inc.
- Aaron Shapiro, Chief Executive Officer, HUGE
- Bill Reichert, Managing Director, Garage Technology Ventures
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