Do you ever find yourself wondering why your energy bill is so high some months and lower others? Have you found that when you do try to cut down your energy use it doesn’t always work out? With the limited information available from your energy provider, Emporia understands it can be difficult to navigate. And with our busy lives, you may not have time to figure it out.
There’s no need to give up, because in just a few minutes we can help demystify things. You may be surprised to learn there are two crucial factors that are causing your high energy bills. And how Emporia can help you substantially reduce your energy use while lowering your costs. We’re going to approach this through the lens of familiarity rather than expertise, as you’ll be equipped to dive further into more specifics later on.
Factor 1: Don’t Let “Peak Demand” Raise Your Monthly Bill.
First, let’s talk about the times your home uses the most energy. Did you know that your highest amount of total energy use over a 15-minute period in one month affects your bill next month? That’s known as “Peak Demand.” Once you’re aware of this factor, it can serve as a holistic metric and movable goal post to work with when you’re aiming to cut down your overall energy use. Simple enough, right? Okay! Let’s get to that second crucial factor in lowering your energy bill.
Factor 2: Avoid the Most Expensive “Time of Use” Periods When Using Energy.
Did you know that some utilities charge different rates for energy during different hours of the day? Think of it this way: ever gone to order a Lyft or Uber and noticed it was more expensive to ride during the rush hours? Well, that exists for energy use! It’s known as “Time of Use” or TOU. It’s a scheduled rate from your energy provider, which you can use as a guide to plan when it’s the best time to use your appliances and devices. For example, if you know costs will peak between 4PM and 8PM, then you also know it’ll be better for your wallet to do laundry or charge your car outside of that timeframe!
How to Put Your New Home Energy Management Knowledge to Use and Save!
If you’re thinking something like, “wow, that’s amazing to know and relatively simple to understand,” we’re glad to know that you’re now more empowered to make Smarter Home Energy Management decisions. Just sharing this knowledge and getting people excited to start their energy management journey is a core tenant of who we are.
If you’re also thinking something like, “again, this is great to know, but I’m so busy already! How can I really put it into action without having to think about it?” Emporia can help! Beyond energy management, we have an amazing ecosystem of our own smart home devices / partner integrations, and an easy-to-use app to help automate your energy use to fit your lifestyle and reduce your overall consumption. It’s good for the planet and your wallet! It’s part of why Emporia was named by Newsweek as One of America’s Best Home and Garden Brands for 2022! Keep on reading so we can tell you all about what we offer!
Emporia’s Ecosystem Easily Enables *Smarter* Home Energy Management
Our New York Time’s Wirecutter-recommended Gen 2 Vue Energy Monitor helps you monitor whole-home energy use and automatically manage it after a quick install in your electrical panel. Alternatively, homeowners in select markets with ZigBee® Enabled AMI Smart Meters can make use of our wireless variant, the Vue: Utility Connect Energy Monitor. Then you can harness the insights and features of the Emporia App!
To curb your total energy-use peaks throughout the day that affect your Peak Demand (remember, this can raise your bill next month), you simply set a peak energy use goal in the and we get to work for you! We call it “Peak Demand Management.”
We can also help you figure out which specific appliances and devices are using the most energy and when -- this helps you make optimized use of our “Time-of-Use Management” feature in the Emporia App. This lets you automate on/off times for Emporia Smart Plugs, Emporia EV Chargers, and integrated thermostats and smart cars when it’s cheapest (remember on-peak and off-peak pricing we mentioned above), prioritized in the device order you choose! More on these devices and features below. We just want to shine some light about one more amazing feature of App first.
If you have solar panels, our Vue Energy Monitor can even help you make the most of them with a feature in the Emporia App called “Excess Solar Optimization.” On top of all that, we help you enable multiple other savings opportunities! Pretty cool, right?
Whether you use just one of those management features of the Emporia App or enable all three to operate symbiotically, you’ll be on your way to Smarter Home Energy Management that can help you save on your monthly energy bill. The app even enables you to explore more energy savings opportunities!
Our PC Mag Editor’s Choice-winning Smart Plugs allow you to get started simply. You can monitor energy use and automate on/off times for devices like small appliances, TVs, gaming consoles, and more while still having access to Time-of-Use Management. You can of course combine our Vue Energy Monitor in addition to the Smart Plugs to get more granular insights, control, and automation!
We also integrate with popular Smart Thermostats from the likes of Ecobee, Honeywell, and Sensi, so you can combine the existing automation and smart features of automatic climate control with our Smarter Home Energy Management System.
Got an electric vehicle? Our Level 2 Emporia EV Charger is not only a cost-effective option with best-in-class features, but you can also make use of the energy management features mentioned above, in tandem with smart charging automation. When paired with the Emporia Vue Energy Monitor, not only do you also have access to Peak Demand Management and Excess Solar Management – you also gain the ability to enable solar-only EV charging – that's right, you can choose to have only your solar panels use the power of the sun to charge your car, and schedule when it should happen.
We hope you enjoy the start of your journey with energy management with this knowledge in tow. We look forward to enabling you to experience Smarter Home Energy Management with the Emporia Ecosystem. To learn more about these topics and our products, please visit our blog or reach out to our support team (US-based and accessible by phone, chat, and email)!
