Town tracks energy use, kilowatt by kilowatt

By Caitlin Castello, Town Correspondent

Wellesley has launched a website tracking electrical usage in three town buildings in real time, as the town strives to cut carbon emissions 20 percent in municipal buildings by 2013.

The web meters can be seen in Town Hall, the Wellesley Free Library, and Wellesley Middle School. The tracker is on television monitors at the locations and a hyperlink to the website will be posted on the town website shortly.

The meters track up-to-the-minute electrical consumption in kilowatts. The website is interactive, allowing users to click on graphs to compare energy consumption in hours, days, or weeks.

The website was launched by Grounded Power, an energy company that is working with Wellesley Municipal Light Plant.

“This is all very interesting data. It’s interesting to see it in real time,’’ said Chris Ketchen, the town’s deputy director. ‘‘The real point behind all of this is the availability of information to all town employees and how it can influence behavior.”

The web program will help advance Town Meeting’s goal of decreasing overall carbon emissions by 10 percent in the residential sector and 20 percent in the town sector, Ketchen said.

Caitlin Castello can be reached at caitlincastello@gmail.com.