Many people are interested in going green at home, but they aren’t sure where to start. It’s hard to improve your energy efficiency when you aren’t sure how much energy you are using or how the energy is being used. Fortunately, it’s easy to answer these questions and meet your energy efficiency goals with a home energy monitor.

What Is A Home Energy Monitor?

Energy monitors are devices that allow you to monitor your home’s energy use in real-time. Seeing this information in real-time can help you learn more about your home’s energy usage and how to make energy-efficient improvements.

What Are the Benefits of Using A Home Energy Monitor?

There are a number of benefits to using a home energy monitor, including:

• Identify Opportunities to Save Energy
• Lower Your Monthly Utility Bills
• Protect the Planet

Identify Opportunities to Save Energy

A home energy monitor makes it easy to identify ways to save energy around your home. For example, monitoring your energy consumption may help you figure out which appliances or lights are consuming more energy than others. You can use this information to make positive changes around the house that will save energy. 

For example, a home energy monitor may reveal that your clothes dryer is consuming a significant amount of energy. Based on this information, you may decide to air dry clothes in order to improve your home’s energy efficiency.

Lower Your Monthly Utility Bills

Every utility company charges its customers based on their energy consumption. The more energy you consume, the higher your utility bills will climb. But the opposite is true, too. Using a home energy monitor can lower your monthly energy consumption, which will also lower your monthly utility bills. 

How much can you save? It depends on your current energy usage and the changes you are willing to make in your home. But in general, the Department of Energy estimates that improving the energy efficiency of your home can help you save between $723 to $1,182 on your utility bills every year.

Protect the Planet

Improving the energy efficiency of your home will benefit the planet, too. Your home releases toxic greenhouse gases into the environment when it consumes energy. This means the more energy efficient your home is, the less carbon dioxide it will be released into the environment.

What Should You Look For When Shopping For A Home Energy Monitor?

The market is flooded with different home energy monitors, so it’s important to know what features to look for when shopping for this device. Here’s what you should keep in mind:

• Total House vs. Individual Appliance
• DIY vs. Professional Installation
• Push vs. Pull Notifications
• Real Time vs. Delayed Updates

Total House vs. Individual Appliance

Some monitors will keep track of your home’s total energy consumption, whereas others will monitor a single appliance’s energy consumption. Both types of devices are useful, so it all comes down to what you would prefer. 

If you are concerned about a specific appliance’s energy consumption, choose an appliance monitor that is compatible with the appliance in your home. But if your goal is to improve your energy efficiency and save money, it’s best to choose a home monitor.

DIY vs. Professional Installation

Make sure you read the installation instructions prior to purchasing a home energy monitor. Home monitors typically connect to the electric meter, so you should ask a professional for help with the installation. However, it may be easier to install appliance monitors. 

Push vs. Pull Notifications

Many monitors are designed to send push notifications about your energy consumption directly to your phone. But others are not. If you choose a device without this feature, you will need to remember to open the app and check your energy usage on a regular basis. 

Devices with this feature may be programmed to send updates on your energy consumption or your progress towards reaching your goals. These devices may also immediately notify you whenever you are consuming more energy than usual. These push notifications simplify the process of monitoring your home’s energy usage and improving your energy efficiency.

Real Time vs. Delayed Updates

If you’re committed to saving energy, it’s important to look for a device with real-time reporting. This ensures you can monitor how much energy is being consumed at any given moment. 

It also helps you see the impact of turning off a single light or appliance in your home.  With real-time monitoring, you can turn a light on and off to see how your home’s energy consumption rises and falls. This isn’t possible with delayed monitoring.

Start Monitoring—and Saving—Energy Today

A home energy monitor is a wise investment. This device can provide a wealth of information that you can use to reduce your carbon footprint, protect the planet, and drastically lower your monthly utility bills. There are many different options on the market, so use this guide to find the perfect energy monitoring device for your home.