It's remarkable how little we know about our energy consumption. Tendril's Adrian Tuck points out that using electricity is a lot like shopping in a supermarket with no price tags. It's difficult to conserve energy when you don't know any of the details. We all want to save money by using less electricity, that seems logical enough, but how will we actually go about finding ways to save? Price check on aisle 5, please.

Tendril found a way to help consumers save money without putting off the utility companies because electricity demand is increasingly outpacing supply. Remember all those blackouts?

Although Tendril has spent the better part of four years and $20 Million developing their monitoring device, the company is also positioned to benefit from the federal stimulus package which includes $11 Billion set aside for smart grid development. If all of this still sounds a bit nebulous, don't be surprised, we've simply never asked to understand our energy consumption in this way before.

Here's one very specific example of the Tendril technology: Tendril now offers an iPhone application that will power down your lights (and other appliances) as you drive away from home, with your iPhone in your hand. Tendril has found a niche as an information provider that stands to inform consumers how to save money and conserve energy, to help utilities achieve new efficiencies, and to relieve pressure from our outdated energy grid which is already busting at the seams. Tendril expects to sell their device in big-box stores everywhere, so keep an eye out for lime green packaging.

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CleanPowerTV.com