LONDON, (Reuters) – Google Inc is soon to roll out  free software which allows consumers to track their home  electricity use and improve energy efficiency in a bid to help  mitigate global warming. Dan Reicher, Director for Climate Change and Energy  Initiatives Google, told Reuters it was in talks with utilities  companies in the United Sates, Europe and Asia to make the  product available shortly to general consumers.

As part of its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,  Google said in February it would use its software skills for the  programme that will show home energy consumption in real time on  a user’s computer or a telephone.

“It will get rolled out very soon to regular energy  consumers,” Reicher said, without providing exact timings.

“When I began getting information about my own home, I  discovered that I had a 35-year electric motor running for my  heating system. That was using huge amount of electricity. I did  not realise that’s the change I need to make in my home.”

The company cited studies showing that access to home energy  information typically saves between 5 percent and 15 percent on  monthly electricity bills.

“The beauty of the tool we are developing is that is going  to be an open source,” Reicher said.