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English: Research technology from Intel Labs is being used in some Pecan Project homes to analyze the electricity used by lights and appliances throughout the house. "In our research trials at Pecan Street, we hardwired the circuit so we get one second or minute interval reading of what each circuit is using," said Brewster McCracken, president and CEO of Pecan Street Inc.

See more: Could Big Data Lower Your Power Bill? Pecan Street Project testing how smart city technologies can help curb consumer energy use.

Just as consumers are turning to mobile apps to track vital signs and manage their personal health, researchers believe that data collection technologies in homes could help people better manage their monthly utility bills.

A glimpse of tomorrow's smart homes can be seen today in Austin, Texas. There, several hundred homes are providing real-time data about gas, water, electricity and solar power use. The homes, a mixture of "green" and conventional housing, are part of an ongoing smart grid research project called Pecan Street. The research consortium is a collaboration among the University of Texas, the Environmental Defense Fund, Austin Energy and a number of other companies, including Intel, Oracle and Sony.