Monitor Your Home Electricity Usage
There are many good reasons to monitor your home energy use. Knowing which appliances and devices cost you the most to run is valuable information.
Is your smart appliance really saving you money? Are your old appliances major energy hogs? Is it cheaper to use your toaster oven or your gas range to cook small items? With an electrical usage monitor, you can answer these and all your other usage questions. Knowing these answers will help you adjust your habits so you can conserve energy and save money.
Smart Meter from Your Power Company
Most energy companies offer smart meters to their customers. Many include free installation. These monitors are a good place to start.
A smart meter sends your information directly to your energy supplier. This data will show up on your energy bill. It can help you track the times of day you use the most energy, and it can help you determine if your bill is accurate. If you want more detail than this basic device offers, however, or your supplier doesn’t offer one, you may want to purchase your own monitor.
Smart Plugs
A smart plug is a power socket adapter that you plug into a wall outlet. You then plug your appliance or device into the smart plug. The plug will gather information about how much energy the device is using.
A smart plug is convenient because it hooks right up to your smartphone app. These plugs work with your smart home hubs, including Alexa, Google Home, and others. The plugs give you readings on every device or appliance. You can set daily or weekly power thresholds, automatic cutoffs, and the ability to control your appliances from a single location. Some monitors allow you to use voice-activated operations.
Not all smart plugs have monitoring capabilities. Some simply allow you to hook up your appliances to your smart home hub. Be sure you’re getting what you want in a smart plug.
Home Electrical Monitoring System
If you want complete tracking of your usage and detailed reports, use a home electrical monitoring system. These can range in price from $50 for a basic setup to $400 for a sophisticated monitor with advanced features.
This system can track information directly from your electricity meter. It lets you track how much electricity you’re using every day. A home electrical monitor gives you the most detailed, thorough information possible about your home energy use. It can compile that information into charts, graphs, and other formats to give you daily or weekly averages.
Professional Installation of Monitors
Ask an electrician to install an electricity usage monitor in your main power line. Once it’s installed and running, you can see the readings on the device’s monitor.
Some monitors allow you to hook up to your smart home hub and control your appliances remotely.
Using a monitor that allows this is more affordable than installing smart plugs on all your appliances and devices. It also simplifies your monitoring because you don’t have to use individual plugs for every item.
Talk To SESCOS About Home Usage Monitors
If you’re interested in getting a home usage monitor, talk to SESCOS. We can help you select the right one and ensure it’s installed correctly. At Southern Electrical, we’re happy to help you conserve energy and save money. Talk to us about all your electrical needs.