Google’s new PowerMeter is a free electricity usage monitoring tool that provides users with a constantly updating look at your home energy consumption.  Information from utility smart readers and home energy management devices is transformed by Google into an easy-to-read visualization on your Google homepage.  The best part? Google PowerMeter is free.

Many consumers report that being able to see electricity usage in real time, throughout the day, makes it easier to reduce energy and save money. Energy feedback requires a “smart meter” or a consumer’s own electricity management device.  The challenge with devices currently available is that today’s smart meters don’t display information to the consumer.  Google believes that consumers will more effectively manage the energy consumption and their homes when they have access to their personal electricity data and can choose how to manage it.

“We’re working with federal and state governments to ensure our energy policies encourage consumer information,” Google.org’s report says. “We hope that consumers will soon be empowered with an entire ecosystem of energy information products and services.”

Google PowerMeter is being produced by Google.org, the California-based company’s philanthropic arm.