Recently I predicted that 2010 would be a year of action when it comes to making buildings in the U.S. more energy efficient. (After all, buildings today consume 40 percent of the total energy used in the U.S. every year, and reducing that percentage would have tremendously positive impact for the country.)

I believe it's a sentiment shared by many people in the U.S., not at the least President Obama, who mentioned the need for "more incentives for clean energy and energy efficiency" during his State of the Union address last week.

But what will it take to turn that great idea into action?

We first need to clear up a few misconceptions -- this can go a long way to changing people's frame of mind about energy efficiency: It encompasses a broad range of energy efficiency solutions that go beyond weatherization.

That's not to say weatherization isn't important, because it is. I use the term "efficiency solution" deliberately because I believe applying new technologies to mature industries such as this one is the next frontier for innovation -- the innovation we need to push this country to the forefront of the international market.

Today we have the chance to use software to operate buildings in ways we've never considered before. For instance, Google PowerMeter is available to homeowners for free. The theory is that by having information about how much energy your home is consuming, you'll be motivated to find ways to reduce it.

On the commercial side, similar (albeit more sophisticated) solutions are also available today. If you want to take the leap from monitoring to actively managing building operations to reduce energy consumption, you can find solutions for that, as well.