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Tendril Networks, a company that provides a portfolio of energy management tools to the utility industry, took the stage at DEMO today to unveil its brand new Tendril Vantage Mobile application — a web-based program that lets individual users monitor their energy consumption from their cell phones. Now anyone with a web-enabled mobile phone can [...]

Tendril Networks, a company that provides a portfolio of energy management tools to the utility industry, took the stage at DEMO today to unveil its brand new Tendril Vantage Mobile application — a web-based program that lets individual users monitor their energy consumption from their cell phones. Now anyone with a web-enabled mobile phone can access information about their accumulating energy costs and pricing changes from any location — equipping them with the data they need to cut down on their energy use whenever possible.

In addition to providing information on the costs and amounts of energy being used, the application will also send users alerts and notifications to call their attention to various changes in home energy use and pricing structure. One of the major features of the program is that it allows users to set energy consumption rules for their homes, and establish quotas for how much can be acceptably used. Then, for example, if an energy use threshold is crossed in a household, users will receive a message from Tendril alerting them to the need to turn off lights, the pool filter, etc.

Even more specifically, they will be able to access monthly billing information and history, view trends in annual consumption that could highlight opportunities to save, and see a breakdown of daily and even hourly energy costs. The Vantage application also models carbon footprint data for homes so that users can readily see the impact of their changes in behavior and energy consumption.

Tendril is one of the most salient companies on the demand side of the cleantech sector. Others like EnergyHub, Greenbox and Onzo have developed home energy monitoring and alert systems, but none of them have deployed the concept on mobile phones. The new Vantage application should give users concerned about home energy consumption the ability to make substantial short and long-term changes in their lifestyles, Tendril says. Nothing could be easier than receiving an alert on your phone in your pocket letting you know that you need to turn off a few lights wherever you happen to be sitting. Accordingly, the Boulder, Colo.-based company is on the leading edge of efforts aimed at integrating green practices as seamlessly as possible into the flow of every day life.

Tendril raised $12 million in a second round of venture capital last summer from Vista Ventures, Access Venture Partners and Appian Ventures, and it is actively looking for more.

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