A recent report from the Cooperative Research Network states that "using energy in the home is a lot like driving a car without a fuel economy indicator. Without the direct feedback, it is very hard for the consumer to make a connection between the energy he uses now and the bill he receives at the end of the month.  An in-home or building display can show real-time energy use in kWh or dollars and cents, a running monthly tab or current energy rates. Various forms of energy-use feedback has much the same behavioral effect as the fuel economy indicator was found to have on drivers when it was installed in vehicles such as the Honda Civic and Toyota Prius. Once the consumer becomes aware of how much energy he's buying and how much that energy is costing him, he tends to change his behavior accordingly and for the better."

Smart Energy Source is presently working with numerous homeowners installing in-home display systems. These applications will include the monitoring of all major appliances and providing real-time use information through the MySource Meter online application. MySource Meter provides the consumer the following graphical information:

• Monthly use
• Monthly use comparisons to previous months and years
• Monthly use comparisons with the ability to adjust the time intervals
• Daily use
• Daily use comparisons to prior years
• Weather charted on each day (high, low and average comparisons)
• Appliance use monitoring in real-time
• Appliance comparisons by month, day, hour or in shorter intervals
• Real-time estimates on the cost to run the appliance hourly
• Energy calculators providing dynamic comparisons