The smart meters provide only basic consumption data, but IBM said its Cognos software and other analytics products can figure out how much is consumed by big or small energy loads, and to "vampire" appliances that suck up power when not in use. It can also spot anomalies in a particular household.

"If we notice your air conditioner accounts for 45 percent of your load in the summer, and we've noticed other people with similar backgrounds consume only 30 percent, we can say, 'Would you consider setting your thermostat 2 degrees higher?'" Naphade said.

If the customer agrees, IBM asks if it can track their consumption more closely to see what impact the change in thermostat temperature actually had.

"That's the key piece," he said. "You can go to all kinds of energy portal sites, but there are none that actually connect actions with their impact."

IBM said the data is collected anonymously: Users are assigned a number that lets them view their own usage stats, but IBM sees only the number and can't match it to an individual household.