Microsoft announced on Thursday that the company would be shutting down its Hohm energy management service. Microsoft is planning on continuing the Hohm service until May 31st, when it would be closed. This comes at the same time as Google, who also announced that its own energy monitoring service, Google PowerMeter, would be retired as well.
Microsoft Hohm, which was still listed as a beta product, was launched in 2009 to give consumers the ability to see how much electrical power and gas they consume in a given month, with suggestions on how to lower their consumption.
Microsoft Hohm will be shut down on May 31st due to a lack of adoption. “The feedback from customers and partners has remained encouraging throughout Microsoft Hohm’s beta period. However, due to the slow overall market adoption of the service, we are instead focusing our efforts on products and solutions more capable of supporting long-standing growth within this evolving market,” Microsoft said.
Microsoft will instead be focusing on developing products, solutions, and partnerships that encompass a wide group of industries such as power generation, distribution grids, buildings, and transportation systems.
Critics will argue that the downfall of Microsoft Hohm was partially as a result of the internet. More and more information is being available to consumers online. Pacific Gas & Electric has a service called ‘SmartMeter’ that allows users to track their own consumption, as an alternative to Microsoft Hohm.
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