Saving Energy With Smart Phones, Tablets And More at GridWeek

energyNOW! senior booker and producer Ashley Bernardi visits the GridWeek conference in Washington, D.C., where new technology on display allows utility customers to take more control of their home energy use.

Mak Tarnoff of Tendril demonstrates applications that let consumers program their thermostat using a smart phone or monitor their home energy use with an iPad application. He says the system also allows consumers to program their appliances to turn on when the price of electricity and demand are low and switch off when they are higher.

Randolph Wheatley of Sensus describes his company's wireless, two-way communications network that allows utilities to control appliances and allow customers to get information from utilities about their home energy use.

Jeremy Eaton of Honeywell, discusses his company's partnership with Opower to develop programs that automate thermostats through smart phones, home computers and other devices.

Hannah Granade of Advantix Systems talks about her company's air conditioning product that uses salt water to dehumidify the air inside homes. The system can cut heating and air conditioning bills by as much as 50 percent, Granade says.