Why every home should invest in an energy monitor

Jul 22, 2019

Energy Monitors are an ideal way to keep track of your electricity usage at your home, office or apartment. Whether you want to see how much energy you use to boil the kettle or know the cost of running the washing machine for one full cycle, an energy monitor will help you. According to the Commission Regulations of Utilities (CRU) the average three bed Irish household uses 4’200 KW/h of electricity per year, resulting in an annual electricity bill of around €1005.

The Diagram below is taken from electricIreland.ie and shows how long varies appliances in the home can be left on to use 1KW of electricity.

Here are 5 reasons on why every homeowner should look to install a basic energy monitor in their home.

Create awareness

Monitoring the energy consumption of your home will make you more aware of just how much electricity you use daily. Being aware of your energy usage means you can make simple but effective changes to reduce it. Energy Monitors show real time data in KW therefore you can see exactly how much electricity you are using at any given time. You can also compare your KW/h rate to the national average of 4’200 KW/h per year and see are you above or below the average.

See how much you are spending

See exactly how much of your pay packet is being wasted by leaving unnecessary electrical appliances plugged in. As most electrical monitors calculate your energy usage, they display a range of data including the cost in € and C02 emissions generated.

Spot the unnoticed electrical appliances running in the background

Your appliances still use 20% of the electricity when they are on standby. Instead of leaving them plugged in or on stand bye, switch them off. An energy monitor will help you identify which appliances are using the most electricity in the home.

The energy monitor makes you think before you plug in the appliance

Monitoring your electricity consumption and seeing how much money you are spending per year on electricity can make you think twice about using the high-energy appliances in your home.

Helps you make better choices

Monitoring and identifying how much power you use and where it is going is a fundamental step in saving on electricity, leading to you making better choices in the future.

Alternative tips to save electricity in the home.

Turn off unnecessary lights around the home, if you aren’t in the room turn off the light.
Use the natural sunlight to your advantage.
Take shorter showers. This will not only save on electricity it will also save tonnes of precious water.
When buying new appliances for your home look at the energy rating of the appliance. Most modern appliances are more efficient that older models, meaning the KW/h is lower in the new models, resulting in less electricity being used to complete the same task and saving you money in the long run.
Unplug unnecessary, unseen appliances in the home.
Turn off stand bye or invest in a rundown timer plug that disconnects the appliance from the electricity mains after a certain period.
Manage your heating thermostat.
Run full loads of washing and opt for the eco-friendly wash that uses colder water and takes less time.
Hang dry your Landry and avoid the dryer at all costs.
When cooking, cook one large meal instead of using the oven multiple times a day. Use alternative kitchen appliances.
Make sure your water tank is properly insulated. Heating water uses more electricity than anything else in the home. An insulated water tank can save you up to 30% on water heating costs.

There are many tips you can implement into your daily routine to help reduce the energy consumption in your home, but the benefits of having a electricity monitor is you can track this real life data to see exactly how much improvement you are making over a certain period of time.

If you enjoyed this article check out our article on how to improve the energy efficiency of your home and the Irish support grants available to the general household.