If you’re interested in producing your own power, solar panels are a good start. But to truly maximize the return on your solar investment, you’ll need to consider two other pieces of the puzzle: energy management and energy efficiency. Google, the Internet and information giant, may be able to help.

The company is partnering with Energy Inc., a maker of power-usage measuring devices, to provide consumers with free energy management software. By tracking and clearly presenting electricity usage data, the device/software combo will enable homeowners and businesses to improve the efficiency of their buildings — and their usage habits. Simple steps — like not running big electrical loads during peak demand hours (when electricity is more expensive) — can make a huge difference in terms of electricity savings.

Google yesterday announced the partnership:

…[w]e’re very excited to announce we have secured our first official device partner. (That means having a smart meter installed by your utility is no longer a prerequisite for using Google PowerMeter!) For the last several months, a few hundred Google employees have been testing a number of in-home electricity monitoring devices. Those of us lucky enough to have one of these devices installed in our homes experienced first-hand how access to high-resolution energy use information drives meaningful behavior change (PDF). So we set out to make that data easier for everyone to access and understand by sending the collected data to our Google PowerMeter software.

A consumer who purchases Energy Inc’s device — which is called TED 5000 and retails for about $200 — will, according to Reuters, be able to forgo the purchase of a bonafide smart meter, presumably saving money. The partnership’s premise, it seems, is based on: (1) cost savings, and (2) ease of use and integration. Just slap the TED 5000 onto your solar PV-enabled home and start watching for opportunities for improvement.

For more stories related to smart metering and the broader smartgrid infrastructure, be sure to check out recent posts by our own Sandra Kreis.