The Annual Consumer Electronics Show recently wrapped up in Las Vegas. So what was the shining star amongst the bright lights on the strip?  Home Energy Monitoring Systems took the spotlight, fueled by government incentives and an ongoing pursuit to reduce household costs. 

While there are several iterations of the system now, the buzz is all around the model that Direct Energy, Whirlpool Corporation, Best Buy, Lennox International, and OpenPeak have all collaborated to create. With iPhone-like usability, the Open Peak 7 has an app store and integrates energy management with other useful features: VoIP phone functionality, dynamic speakers, and full media content including music, photos, and video.

According to their site, OpenPeak and it's partners will be launching a 1-year pilot program in Houston, Texas around April or May to determine a range of things about home energy use, such as how to help households minimize energy use, how the smart grid and home owners work together, and more importantly, how households use home energy monitors. 

But don't expect OpenPeak to continue it's reign much longer. Of course, just this week, Apple filed an application entitled Intelligent Power Monitoring, which is intended to manage power use of connected items, and make energy-conscious suggestions. According to Apple's applications:

Some personal computers sometimes are being left on simply to serve as power supplies for the charging of the aforementioned portable devices via connections, such as USB connections, that provide power in addition to data (rather than charging those devices from the household electric service using their dedicated chargers), even though the power supply of a personal computer is much larger than is needed for such a function, and as such draws much more power than such a function would otherwise demand. As the price of electricity increases, such uses of power can cost users more. 

But if your home is outfitted with smart meters, you can get started today for free, thanks to Google's PowerMeter and Microsoft's Hohm.