Considering the amount of technology and mobile devices that are located in our homes, home energy management is crucial in learning about how much electricity we’re currently using. In doing so, you can understand how much energy you’re using and then find ways of how to reduce it if it’s too high. The trouble is, it can sometimes prove difficult to monitor your electricity usage. You probably won’t know where to start in monitoring one appliance for its electricity usage let alone your whole home. Luckily, there are continuous efforts in the green sector to help combat such issues through the development of eco-friendly solutions. Here’s an example of some options currently available to help you monitor your energy usage.
Smart Meters
In many areas, it is now required by regulation that a smart meter is offered to all customers by energy suppliers as they look to help their customers control their energy usage. These are essentially wireless utility meters that shows data on how much electricity is being used in the house and how this is reflecting the cost. This helps both energy companies and homeowners get a better understanding of how much energy is being used in your home.
Home Energy Monitoring Systems
An alternative to a smart meter is setting up a home monitoring system in your home. Just take note that these will take significantly longer to set up and can be rather complex. The main benefit of these is that it offers a more customized look to energy consumption in your home and will be far more detailed with information. If you feel as though you’re a bit of a DIY person, with some experience in wiring, you’ll be able to set one up in your home. There are a range of home energy monitoring systems that you can choose from.
Smart Outlets
An innovative solution to energy monitoring and control are smart outlets/plugs that you can use in your home. Not all of these necessarily offer energy tracking, however, with the majority designed to offer scheduling and device control. It’s a really clever and efficient device as all you simply need to do is plug it into the wall with your appliance and it provides the data you need on the devices electricity output. It’s scheduling feature also means you can have the device turn on and off when needed without extra energy use. It’s an ideal solution for people who rent or have particular devices they wish to monitor.
Energy Apps
Smart apps are another way that you can monitor electricity usage in your home. There are many pros and cons of using an energy monitoring app. On the pro side, they’re extremely cost effective compared to the other options available but on the other hand, they’re quite unreliable and tend to struggle to record accurate data. Mobile apps work differently to other methods in gathering data. Some apps will need you to record data to provide a reading, whilst others only record data from particular appliances you wish to monitor. Nevertheless, this is still an option for you if you wish to go down this route where a range of smart energy apps available.
Here are the 4 main ways you can look to monitor the energy use in your home. Not only will this help to reduce your energy use in the home and contribute towards the earth being a cleaner place, but it’ll also save you much more money in the long run.