The Spanish firm Enerbyte aims to create behavioral changes in people’s energy consumption with an app that monitors energy use in real time. It tells consumers where they are using the most energy in their homes: lighting, heating/cooling, appliances, etc.

For now, more than 200 homes in the town of Rubí (23 kilometers from Barcelona) have joined a pilot program led by the firm Enerbyte and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Universidad Politécnica de Catalonia). The Spanish company believes that cutting energy use is the first step toward improving the efficiency of buildings, which are responsible for 30% of total energy consumption.

In order to let consumers save about 17% on energy every month, Enerbyte offers a multiplatform app (web-based or on mobiles/tablets) that monitors household consumption in real time and informs people where they are using the most energy in their house: lighting, heating/cooling, appliances, etc.

Users can see their energy use instantaneously and exchange this information with others on the system. The app also offers 300 personalized suggestions according to the consumption pattern of each household.

Another energy saving initiative is Zem2All (Zero Emissions Mobility to All). Under this program Spanish utility Endesa uses V2G electric vehicle technology (vehicle to grid) which allows vehicles not only to charge but also to return energy to the power grid.

Charging the vehicle at one of two hundred available stations is more like charging your mobile phone than filling up a conventional car with fuel, and the engines are 45% more efficient.