With energy rates on the rise, and growing demand taking a toll on the environment, there’s a need for new and innovative ways to help us curb our energy usage. The introduction of smart metering in the early 2000s was a step in the right direction, but the technology lacked real-time measurement and failed to provide average consumers with practical ways to access and make use of their data.
Thankfully, the rise of IoT technology in recent years has paved the way for a new age of energy monitoring devices, which are more precise and practical for the average consumer. The Sense Energy Monitor is one of those devices. It tracks your energy usage in real-time, alerts you if something goes wrong, and allows you to set goals to help limit your usage.
Sense Energy Monitor
$299
The basics
The Sense Energy Monitor consists of a device you connect to your electrical box, which monitors your electricity usage and transmits the data to your smartphone via your home WiFi network. Sense recommends installation be done by a licensed electrician as it requires opening up your electrical panel and connecting sensors to your high-voltage service mains. The installation process should take about 30 minutes.
Once installed, the Sense Home Energy Monitor takes current and voltage measurements over 1 million times per second. With these detailed measurements, Sense is able to learn and remember the electrical signatures of individual devices.
Reporting
The Sense app allows you to monitor your real-time energy usage and track usage over time. Detailed reporting like this can really help you tweak your usage on the fly, especially if you’re on a tight budget.
Because Sense identifies electrical signatures of individual devices, you gain insight into how much electricity each device in your home is using. This is especially useful for identifying energy hogs and limiting their use.
Custom alerts
The Sense app allows you to set custom notifications for critical devices like your refrigerator. It will also alert you if a significant change happens in your daily energy consumption.
Goals
By setting goals, you can reduce your energy use by tracking your progress and staying within your budget. For example, you can set a goal to keep your usage at end of the month to be under $100. In addition, Goals can help you manage tiered billing plans by alerting you when you’re tracking toward the next tier of energy charges.
The bottom line
By understanding where when and how much energy you’re using, you become more empowered to take action to save. You no longer have to wait for your utility bill each month to learn how much you’ve spent. Sense gives you the ability to take proactive steps to reduce how much you pay for electricity, giving you peace of mind, and leaving more money in your pocket.
With this in mind, it’s easy to imagine energy monitoring systems like Sense becoming the norm in homes. It’s the logical step forward in a world with growing energy demands and an increasingly fragile environment. With real-time energy monitoring, alerting and goals, Sense is what smart meters aspired to be, and is likely the kind of system we need to make meaningful changes to the way we use energy.
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