Verdiem's new Edison software shows PC users how to shed watts.

In an effort to help computer users curb their energy use and carbon emissions, Verdiem Corp. is making Edison, the company’s new software for individual PCs, available to 10 million customers free of charge.

Seattle-based Verdiem—along with partners Microsoft and the Climate Savers Computing Initiative—says those 10 million computers representing about 1 percent of the global PC user population, would result in a global reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 7 billion pounds.

Verdiem has been selling its power management software, known as Surveyor, to school districts, government agencies and  corporations for several years. This month marks its first foray into the consumer market. “PCs are the hidden energy hogs of the home, and most users have no idea that they are needlessly throwing away 80 percent of their PC’s energy,” says Kevin Klustner, president and CEO of Verdiem.

Home PCs can count for as much as 10 percent of consumers’ energy bills, and Verdiem estimates its software can save the average consumer as much as $75 a year. Verdiem’s sales and revenue have more than doubled in each of the last two years, and are projected to triple in 2008, according to the company.