How To Monitor Your Energy Usage

Have you been trying to cut down your energy consumption and save money on your monthly electricity bills? If yes, we have a suggestion for you. Instead of trying to regulate your energy consumption through select random ways, it is best to adopt a systematic approach through proactive monitoring and control. Modern energy monitoring systems help you to monitor energy consumed by different appliances in your house so that you can identify places where you may be wasting energy and take steps to control it.

Ways To Monitor Energy Usage And Save Money On Electricity Bills

Monitor meter readings:

Compare meter readings at regular intervals to see if you have been using more energy than usual and incorporate corrective steps. Advanced meters can show energy consumption for every half-hour which can be useful to find out when you are using more energy. Installing a plug-in meter or a clamp-on meter can give you energy usage for a specific appliance. Be sure to discount factors like weather, the house remaining occupied during the day, or excessive usage of a specific appliance, all which can lead to increased energy consumption.

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Using smart meters

Smart meters display accurate bill amount so that you can know what you owe at any time of the month. It generates comparisons of energy usage during peak and off-peak hours so that you can consider altering your usage of appliances to take advantage of off-peak rates. Smart meters also put an end to estimated billing which itself can save you some amount of money every month.

Using energy monitoring systems

This is one of the proven ways to save energy. Energy monitors can help you identify appliances that use the most energy so that these can be replaced or their usage altered. These monitors also give valuable feedback on usage patterns that can be used to bring in energy-saving behavior among your household members.

Energy monitoring system usually consists of sensors, a data gateway and a display where you can view readings. Houses across the UK have been able to achieve a saving of 5-15% on their energy bills using energy monitors. These monitors can also bring your attention to places of small but continuous energy usage like charging points and TV/VCR/DVD points that are never unplugged.

Most energy monitors are hand-held devices and hence convenient to use. You can carry them to different points of your house and switch on/off appliances to see which ones consume more energy. Based on readings, you can take steps like replacing outdated models and controlling usage of energy-intensive appliances to bring in savings. Some models also allow you to set daily targets and sound an alarm when the target is reached.

Both smart meters and energy monitors give you inputs on your energy consumption which you can utilize to adopt energy saving practices in your house and cut down your monthly energy bills.

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