Essentially an Energy Monitor allows you to check the total amount of electricity that you are using in the home at any one point in time. It is a simple, inexpensive way of communicating with your household the actual cost of electricity and of motivating yourself to start controlling the bills.
It is particularly useful when you want to find out the annual, monthly, or even daily cost of using particular appliances, or even groups of appliances. In my home for example I test the electricity usage before and after I activate the power strips which enable you to easily switch off a group of electronic appliances in the home at one point in time. I found that leaving the Television, DVD player and PlayStation 3 on at the same time costs me 40 per month!
You are also made conscious of the amount of energy consumed by leaving appliances on standby mode – these items such as TV Fridges, Microwaves, and home cinema systems contribute to what is known as your house phantom load – that is the amount of energy that is being consumed for no particular benefit to you or the household. Eliminating these and calculating the benefit is very satisfying.
The other thing I discovered during this time is that HVAC appliances that are not on top of their health and still functioning can cost you more. An air conditioner with dust and dirt accumulated inside its air filter would suck more power to cool a room compared to one that is serviced and maintained. So, a conscious attempt to reduce the energy bills would be to ask an HVAC Contractor in Loveland, CO, or wherever you live for the upkeep.
Other Energy saving tools
After getting bitten by the energy-saving bug, you might want to consider investing in energy-efficient plugs that turn off appliances when not in use. If you are planning to replace old plugs with energy-efficient ones, you can contact an electrician moorabbin (or nearby) for hassle-free installation. With these plugs, you will be able to save energy, reduce your carbon footprint, and potentially lower your electricity bills.
Your energy footprint
The final reason why you should invest in an Energy Monitor is that it provides you with the data to make a more informed choice when considering which electrical appliances to use in your home. If you have no idea how much it costs to run a fridge for a month (around 5) then you will not be particularly swayed by the increasing energy-efficient fridges as you have no base point to benchmark from! Additionally, an energy monitor can help identify faulty appliances in your home by detecting unusual energy consumption patterns. As an example, if you notice a sudden increase in energy usage by the air conditioner or a significant spike in energy consumption, it may indicate that the AC is not working properly and is using more energy than it should. That way, you can get in touch with an appliance repair firm (like this one offering AC repair in Snohomish, WA) to get the faulty AC fixed.
Keep in mind that leaving the HVAC system as is without getting the necessary repairs done can only do more harm than good. You may feel that you may not need to look into the matter right away as it is not summer yet, but this can only add to your expenses. First, during the time when hotter temperatures are reaching their peak, you would be compelled to make use of the AC in its poor condition to get a respite from the sweltering heat, keeping aside the thought of energy efficiency. Second, finding a technician during summer could be difficult as they would be approached by homeowners who share the same thought as you; emergency repairs can cost you a fortune. Either way, you would be the one to bear the brunt of these circumstances. Therefore, it is ideal to get your air conditioner attended to by a professional from firms like Energy Pro Heating & Cooling – air conditioning services before summer knocks at your door — perhaps during spring.
Conclusion
Purchasing energy-saving items is an investment for the future, as they invariably have a payback period within 5 years and will save a lot of money long term. The secondary benefit that we haven’t touched on here today is the ‘green’ issue – the lower carbon footprint caused by your reduced energy consumption will give you a happy glow for many months to come!