As per the Microsoft Wednesday announcement, the company's Hohm web site will soon be offering online tools that would enable consumers trim down energy consumption costs.

Saying that it had big plans under way for the mentioned products, Microsoft elaborated that the proposed tools would allow users to analyze their home energy use, and provide them with the requisite recommendations on saving energy. In addition, the tools - like smart meters - would also facilitate the comparison of the users' month-on-month or year-on-year energy usage trends.

Microsoft said that its web site will also offer valuable guidelines for bringing about a reduction in energy bills. However, though there has been no official intimation as to when the tools will be available to general public, the interested users can sign up for receiving information pertaining to the availability of the products' beta service.

Microsoft, which already develops power-management tools into its operating systems and provides requisite power management software in servers and data centers, will build in analytics that disseminate electricity consumption in terms of heating, lighting, cooling and appliance. Such a break down will help users cut cost by segregating the power-hogging devices. 

For analyzing electricity data for the online service, Microsoft will make use of analytics software from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the US Department of Energy.