It seems everyone these days is concerned about reducing carbon footprint and finding ways to cut costs on energy bills.  Last year Microsoft rolled out their Hohm website to assist people in making positive home weatherization and energy usage choices, and Google's PowerMeter is directly being used by power companies as a frontend interface for consumers looking to monitor their usage. 

Not wanting to be left out, Apple has filed two patents related to energy consumption and monitoring.  One patent titled 'Intelligent Power Monitoring' is regarding the use of computers as charging devices and discusses ways to inform users of power consumption and allow them to make changes which may reduce power grid demand.  One example given is the use of a computer's USB port as a charging device for phones and such, rather than using the device's dedicated power adapter.  This use increases the overall power consumption due to the requirements of the computer, and users could be informed of the potential savings as well as the optimal times of day for charging devices (non-peak periods).

The second patent deals with reducing the number of AC-to-DC converters used for electronic devices and providing additional wiring in homes which can offer DC voltage and data transmission.  

With more new construction including power monitoring and low-voltage wiring as standard, we'll likely see increased activity in this area by any players with an interest (Google in collecting the data, Apple in ensuring the standards are in favor of their devices and Microsoft because they dabble in everything).  

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