Some people in Fayetteville say they're saving money on their energy bills thanks to a pilot program called $martWorks.

Consert, a Raleigh-based company, has partnered with IBM and Verizon to create a program through which people can monitor and manage usage of energy-draining appliances like air conditioners, water heaters, and pool pumps.

The goal is to reduce the amount of energy wasted when people are not home or using the devices.

"We call it ‘ghost' consumption," said Jack Roberts, CEO and President of Consert, Inc. "In most houses, we're heating or cooling air when people are not there, some part of the day, and we're heating water that no one's going to use immediately."

One hundred residential and business customers of the Fayetteville Public Works Commission are taking part in the pilot.

Consert initially hoped that residential users would cut consumption by at least 15 percent, and that business users would cut consumption by 8 percent. But some data already shows people cutting closer to 20 percent.

The program allows users to create and set energy usage profiles online \, based on their lifestyles. For instance, one household might have one profile for weekdays and another for weekends.

"The questions include things like what time do you get up, what time do you go to work, how would you like the temperature in your house to be," Roberts said.

The web site also allows participants to monitor their energy usage all throughout the month and adjust it at any time.

All of the data from the pilot is expected to be available in the end of December. FPWC will evaluate the results to see if it will offer the program to all of its customers in the future.