Clint Swett wrote an article in yesterday's Evansville Courier & Press regarding "smart meters." These meters communicate with utilities and instantly calculate the electricity cost of turning up a thermostat or running an appliance. These smart meters are becoming big business, with the U.S. spending $800 million on them in 2005, with the industry expected to grow 20% each year within the next ten years. This boom could be further escalated if California requires (as it has expressed) that all new homes in that state be equipped with smart meter monitoring by 2008. California may do this so that utilities can "control a home's thermostat during an energy crunch."

The concept behind these meters seems good and logical--i.e. that consumers will be more apt to conserve electricity if they are continually reminded of how much money they are spending or saving to run the electricity in their homes. In addition, if they refuse to conserve and there is an extreme energy shortage, a state could actually force conservation upon individuals by e.g. lowering their thermostats for them. These devices are clear reminders that each person really can make a difference in fossil fuel use and especially in states like California (that may make them mandatory), reminders that failure to conserve may be punished in a sense. If we worry about getting our cars out of parking garages before too much times passes, so that we do not have to pay a few more dollars, then we will likely adjust our behavior to minimize our energy bill. Up until now, it seems like it has been hard to pinpoint what changes in energy use will really conserve fossil fuels and money. This device spells it all out and eliminates the mystery. This removes one more obstacle to conservation.