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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Hohm available outside the United States?
Hohm is not currently available outside the U.S. We understand that saving energy and saving money are worldwide concerns and we plan to make Hohm available to other countries over time. Currently, the energy model and recommendations are tuned specifically for US residences. Additionally, Hohm leverages data such as weather, building techniques, common appliances, and energy commodity pricing, based on the location of the home. We appreciate your interest and hope that you will use Hohm once it is released in your country.
Where is my utility provider? I thought I saw an announcement that my utility company was part of Microsoft Hohm.
Automated data feeds are live for Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), Seattle City Light, and Xcel Energy. We are continuing to work with Puget Sound Energy on their implementation and hope to have these feeds available as soon as possible. Until then we encourage you to manually input the data from your bill. In addition, we are actively signing up other utilities and will announce these through our blog, Facebook fan page and twitter account.
How do you know a house in a certain city (like Austin, TX or Boston, MA) can save X dollars?
Based on the location of a home, we can determine numerous averages including when the year a house was built, the type of heating system, and general appliance data. The default values for a house in that area are used to calculate how much money someone living in that ZIP code could save by following energy savings tips with a return on investment within 18 months. Actual homes in any ZIP code may vary significantly from the average. To get more accurate cost savings estimates, sign up for an account and you can enter more details about your home and your energy use which will be used to generate energy-saving recommendations tailored for you.
The recommendations I've been given don't seem to match the data I've entered in my home profile. What can I do?
You may have recently changed or added to your home profile, or we may have updated the calculations we make when determining your energy report and recommendations. Check the status of your Energy Report and Recommendations on My Hohm Center, Ways to Save Energy, or the Energy Report page. If it says "Updates are available", click Update to get the latest information or calculations. After the information is updated, you can view your current energy report and recommendations on the Recommendations tab. Microsoft Hohm is in a beta period, and some recommendations may need refining. We appreciate your feedback if you notice unexpected results.
What is Hohm?
Microsoft Hohm is a free online application that helps you save energy and money. With Hohm you can better understand your home energy usage, get recommendations to conserve energy and start saving. As with any recommendation product, Microsoft Hohm will provide increasingly more accurate and relevant suggestions for energy conservation as our users contribute home energy input and feedback. One of the objectives during our beta period is to refine our tool and further increase the value our product can offer to you.

Hohm uses advanced analytics licensed from Lawrence Berkeley Labs and the Department of Energy, to give you personalized energy saving recommendations. These recommendations are tailored based on your specific household circumstances including home attributes and use of appliances and systems. You will also be able to compare your energy usage with that of others in your area. In this beta version, the Microsoft Hohm team will learn from its users and communities and will make improvements to the site and analytics.
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