DTE Energy today unveiled its free DTE Insight energy efficiency app that allows its electric customers to better understand how they use and manage their energy.
DTE Insight links customers' iPhones and Android phones to their advanced meters to help them discover their energy usage in real time. More than 1.3 million advanced meters have been installed in DTE Energy's Southeast Michigan electric service area.
"We're excited to be the first utility in the country to offer this type of technology to our customers," said David E. Meador, DTE Energy vice chairman and chief administrative officer. "DTE Insight is another way we help educate our customers about energy efficiency and give them a practical tool to use. People want to save money on their bill, but they need to know how they use energy before they can save."
DTE Insight offers:
- A personalized energy-savings coach. DTE Insight makes it easy to track electric usage, set goals and compare with others in the Insight community.
- A view of the daily, weekly, monthly and annual electric usage of customers' homes and the energy consumption patterns of their families
- Energy-saving tips that suggest and encourage do-it-yourself home improvement projects
- Weekly challenges designed to engage and provide rewards for saving energy
- The PowerScan Tool for iPhone users to scan electrical appliances' power cords to instantly see its energy consumption and an estimate of their monthly operating costs.
- A dashboard view that provides tips, alerts and other information to help customers quickly find the best ways to increase their energy savings.
- The DTE Energy Bridge that provides customers with a real-time view of how much and when their homes are using energy. There is a limited quantity of the Bridges at this time and interested customers will participate in a pilot program.
"We're also pleased that this service has allowed us to expand our Pure Michigan Business Connect Initiative by working with three Michigan companies," Meador said. "It's important to grow the state's economy and we're committed to doing that."
The app and Energy Bridge device were developed by Royal Oak-based Vectorform, who partnered with Saline Lectronics and M.A.K.S of Troy to prototype and assemble the Energy Bridge hardware.
"We're proud to be working in partnership with DTE Energy to invent a new way for customers to discover and improve their energy consumption," said Kevin Foreman, director of product vision at Vectorform. "With a unique blend of coaching, gamification, and social elements, DTE Insight is able to engage users with their personal energy consumption and ultimately reduce their energy use, with increased efficacy over traditional energy-reduction methods."
