The Electricity Bill is Too Damn High

Do you remember the phrase, "the rent is too damn high"? The saying became popular in New York City politics around 2005 and the years following.

Well, at PowerWise we often hear from people when their electricity bill is "too damn high."

One tactic to reduce this bill is to target after-hours electricity use. Businesses and homes have mechanical systems running during the day. When occupants are asleep or the business is closed, a majority of equipment should be off, right?

An energy management solution, like SiteSage, shows what equipment is operating after hours. Once the electricity monitoring hardware is in place, the technology tracks when electricity is being used and by what equipment. While heating, cooling and refrigeration can run at any hour, other things may be running unnecessarily after hours. These items are an easy target for reducing electricity costs.

The commercial SiteSage dashboard allows business owners to enter their operating hours. SiteSage can then show the costs by equipment during the different time frames.

Figure 1. SiteSage commercial report

For homeowners, SiteSage provides good options for finding equipment running after hours and contributing unnecessarily to the electricity bill. First, the software generates historical reports showing where electricity is being used and when. Scanning the equipment listed in the circuits tab and looking at equipment runtimes will help find some targets.

Figure 2. SiteSage circuit report

A second place to look is the circuits details is the tab on the home page. Here is a report of equipment running during the overnight hours.

Figure 3. SiteSage circuit details

Another way to tackle electricity use after hours is to set up an alert. Specify the equipment, runtime duration, and the time of day to have the software scan for the activity. This tactic is more proactive than reviewing the historical information. And, doing so will pick up on abnormal equipment operation.

Figure 4. SiteSage equipment alert

If reducing electricity costs is important, knowing what contributes to electricity bills and when is valuable knowledge to have. The after-hours electricity use is a great place to start. Turning off equipment, using web-based controls for schedules, or adjusting thermostat settings when a building is unoccupied can generate significant savings.