The latest to announce its demise is Google Powermeter. All the efforts to combine social networking with energy conservation seem to be pulling the plug. As I wrote back in April, Web 2.0 may be many things, but green it is not. And that's a shame, because if our friends could "unlike" our energy habits, we might have some incentive to improve them.

To see what might be done to turn things around, I talked to Paul Cole, vice-president of Tendril, in April and again yesterday. Cole is a psychologist by training and has been conducting some pilot projects to see what might get people to save energy. "We have gotten it wrong so far," he says. "It's less a question of user motivation than that we energy technologists haven't gotten the right products to the consumers."

I've tried it all: caulking cracks, blowing in insulation, replacing drafty windows and—I'm especially proud of this one—installing a mail-slot cover so airtight it could be used in a space shuttle docking module. Yet my home heating bill remains an object of fear and loathing. After years of trying low-tech solutions, I'm drawn to a high-tech solution, and the one I keep hearing about is the geothermal heat pump.

Heat pumps, of whatever variety, give you the giddy feeling of breaking the laws of physics. The gas boiler in my basement is 80 percent efficient; burning gas unavoidably heats the exhaust gases as well as the water for the radiators. An electric heater is almost 100 percent efficient. But a heat pump can be more than 100 percent efficient. A 1000-watt electric heater emits 3400 BTU of heat in an hour, but the same amount of electricity, used to run a heat pump, might transfer 15000 BTU of heat into the house.

It was a match made in geek heaven. Combine the hottest online activity—social networking—with the biggest environmental challenge—energy conservation—and you get something yummier than peanut butter and chocolate. It's not just a mashup of buzzwords, either. Most of us pat ourselves on the back about our energy-saving ways. Sure, we have our vices, but doesn't our routine greenness make up for the occasional slippage, be it bright kitchen lights or an extra degree on the thermostat? Only by talking to neighbors and friends might we discover we aren't so virtuous after all.

That's what social networks could be good for. People's competitive instincts might well be the country's biggest energy source. Also, there's so much confusing and conflicting information out there that it would help to be able to share our experiences of what works and what doesn't. In the past couple of years, a number of sites sprouted up to meet this demand.

This week, the lighting start-up company vu1 is beginning to ship a new type of lightbulb that could displace compact fluorescents and LED lamps as the energy-saving bulb of choice. The technology, known as cathodoluminescence or electron-stimulated luminescence (ESL), offers similar energy savings, but provides a more natural quality of light.

Last month, I wrote about the EcoDog home power monitoring system, which lets you see how much electricity your house is pulling, circuit by circuit. Apart from being fun for energy geeks like me who have an insatiable appetite for data, the device lets you discover patterns in your power consumption you might never have known about and that are burning up your money. Soon afterwards, I got a call from EcoDog's competitor Powerhouse Dynamics. I had mentioned its eMonitor system in passing, but hadn't fully appreciated its differences from EcoDog's system.

Solar panels are supposed to be a set-and-forget technology. Mine have performed just as advertised. All the installer said I need to do is look them over a couple of times a year and rinse off any dirt buildup. The approval and installation process had its delays and gaffes, but all’s well that ends well, I figure. But lately I’ve been feeling less sanguine. Solar experts have regaled me with tales of poor workmanship they find when they do spot checks of installed systems. As improperly installed joints corrode, connections loosen, and wires fray, we may be looking forward to a wave of breakdowns in the coming years. “Not only is there a potential for an increase in system failures, but there is also a potential for a rise in unsafe and potentially lethal situations,” says Corey Asbill of New Mexico State University.

The New York Times recently ran an article on how solar power is getting all caught up in red tape—specifically, local building codes and permitting requirements. My first reaction was: "Darn, I've been scooped." I'd been meaning to write about these bureaucratic hassles for over a year, but never got around to it. My second reaction was: "Hey, that's only half the story." Although much could be done to streamline the process of applying for approval to install panels, the regulations are there for a reason.

Editor's Note: Scientific American's George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels in Solar at Home (formerly 60-Second Solar). Read his introduction here and see all posts here.

"I was bleeding energy out," fellow solar homeowner Paul Proctor told me. "I needed to find out how, and why, and where." I can relate. Even though I've worked hard to seal up my house and drive a stake through electricity vampires, I still can’t bear to open my monthly utility bill. So I continue to seek out energy forensics tools to ferret out where energy is going and what I can do to stop it from going there. Proctor has been trying out the FIDO Home Energy Monitoring System from EcoDog and he related his experiences to me last week.

Editor's Note: Scientific American's George Musser has been chronicling his experiences installing solar panels in Solar at Home (formerly 60-Second Solar). Read his introduction here and see all posts here.

One of the hardest thing about installing solar panels is getting good information, so I'm happy to report that a new book by fellow solar bloggers Stephen and Rebekah Hren, A Solar Buyer's Guide, is coming out in a couple of weeks. I invited them to write a guest blog on where they think home solar technology stands.

Many people feel inclined to wait on the sidelines until some breakthrough makes solar energy "work" or until it becomes "affordable." Some of those people are apparently the Obamas, who have refused to allow free installation of solar panels on their roof! But even though solar installations are generally not free, they are still a good deal.

Editor's Note: Scientific American's George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels in Solar at Home (formerly 60-Second Solar). Read his introduction here and see all posts here.

Solar homeowners' favorite topic of conversation is the performance of their arrays. As part of the sales pitch, the installer estimates how much power you'll generate, and most systems come with a meter (separate from the utility meter) to monitor the power output continuously. But how can you tell whether your array is really living up to expectations? That simple question set me off onto a mathematical hunt that other solar homeowners might enjoy -- and which would make a good term-paper project for a high-school science class.