Every home is filled with electronic appliances of all kinds: televisions, curling irons, refrigerators, and coffee makers. Each uses the same energy, but each also has a unique senor code that distinguishes it from other gadgets. These sensor codes are much like fingerprints and can let homeowners know about their house’s energy use.
In order to take the complexities out of this system, one company has developed a device that summarizes the energy use in a home.
Earth Networks, a weather data analytics company in Germantown M.D., created a small smartphone-sized sensor that connects to the home’s breaker box. It can track the usage patterns of each home appliance and display it in an easy to read manner.
The goal behind this device is to help the homeowner conserve energy and potentially lower energy bills. By learning what appliance is using the most energy, the homeowner can fix the problem; this gadget will tell you if a certain appliance was turned on for too long, whether it’s on the verge of failure, and where energy can be conserved.
This sensor will be available for purchase sometime in mid-2017. However, if a homeowner doesn’t want to wait that long to implement energy saving initiatives, here are some options.
Change the light bulbs
Replace light bulbs in the most-used-rooms with compact fluorescent light bulbs, which save energy and last six times longer than traditional ones.
Install new windows
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, homeowners can save up to $501 a year by replacing old single-pane windows with new Energy Star models. While this can seem pricey at first, the savings down the road will bring a high return on investment.
Wash in cold water
This goes for both bathing and laundry — washing in cold water limits energy use and can save you up to 40 cents per load.
Shut doors when room is not in use
The less square footage the heater has to heat, the more savings to reap.
Watch out for ghosts
Ghost appliances that is! Unplug all of your electronics after using, as they still use energy even when they are not turned on. Ghost energy has the ability to sap the majority of a home’s energy throughout the year.
So remember: when ghosts are away, the wallet can play.