Guest blog by Victoria Olmer
Bills can be expensive, but just about everyone
has to pay their bills every single month in exchange for basic needs such as
running water and electricity. Electric bills, especially in the winter, can
become particularly pricey for those of you with electric heat as you fight to
keep out the cold.
Let’s say that you’re trying to switch things up
and have decided to reduce your electric bill by 5%. The first thing you’ll
want to do is look at last month’s electric bill to see what your monthly
electric use was.
Example:
Your last
electric bill listed that you used 30 kW (30,000 W) EVERY DAY that month. Take
5% of your electric usage in watts. 5% of 30,000 would be 1,500; therefore,
your goal is to reduce your utility electric usage by 1,500 W every day. It’s a
do-able goal! And you can think of it as getting 1-1/2 days of electricity FREE
every month.
Conveniently, investments such as a SUNRNR
("SunRunner") renewable energy generator can offer 1,500 W each day
sustainably (when sun is available for recharge). This is the offset method - powering that 5%
using a source of energy other than the grid.
Of course, another route is pure reduction of consumption and other
initiatives, such as turning off the lights or computers when they’re not in
use, changing the thermostat by a degree, sealing cracks, washing clothes in
warm water instead of hot, etc.
So where do smartphones come in? Well you’ll want
to know how to keep track of your electricity usage so you can either cut back
or use an alternate energy source. Most of us have smartphones these days and
luckily there are a variety of applications that can make this task extremely
easy. Three applications stood out for
evaluation. They include Green Outlet, EvoEnergy, and Power Simulator. All of
these programs can be downloaded on smart phones either for free or just $1!
For the purpose of reducing your electric bill by
5%, Power Simulator and Green Outlet might be the best applications, since
based on your input, they plainly state how much energy a particular appliance
uses daily and the associated cost. They
are likely the most-helpful apps for finding that 1,500W and determining which
appliances would make the best (and easiest) choice for being run "off
grid" or used more efficiently.
Pros:
•
Very simple and
easy to use! (Although changing cost/kW not very intuitive in Settings)
•
A wide variety of
typical appliances and their wattages are pre-programmed.
•
Appliances not in
alphabetical order, but are listed by type (kitchen, bedroom, etc.)
•
Total cost and
energy usage are given for amount of time the appliance is used per month.
•
Time units can be
easily adjusted.
Cons:
•
Not all appliances
may be listed.
•
It’s not clear that
the cost and wattage predicted is daily.
•
No option to enter
your own appliances and wattages.
•
No overall report
or option to add up total appliance usage. Only one report for an appliance at
a time.
Pros:
•
You can create a
running list of all appliances for total monthly power usage and cost.
•
Summary provides
hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly cost and wattage totals so no math is
necessary!
•
Application is
relatively easy to maneuver.
•
Allows you to view
total and individual monthly costs and wattages.
•
Appliances can be
edited and deleted.
•
Power units can be
altered (watts, kilowatts, milliamps, amps).
Cons:
•
The “Power
Consumption Calculator” on the home page is redundant. Calculations can be done
in the “Your List of Appliances” tab.
•
You must enter all
data including appliance names and their wattages - ugh!
Pros:
•
“Welcome” page
includes all of the instructions for the entire application.
•
“Settings” provides
unique options, such as entering data about your home including size,
thermostat temperature, and the number of people.
•
Appliance wattages
are pre-programmed, and you CAN adjust the wattage.
•
Includes a carbon
footprint reading based on your electricity usage. Very neat!
Cons:
•
Not all appliances
may be listed.
•
No option to enter
your own appliances and wattages.
•
Instructions are
buried in Welcome page, therefore difficult to navigate.
•
“Appliances” page
is cumbersome. Not clear about how to
add up total appliance usage.
•
Appliances are not in alphabetical (or even
any) order.
•
Must read
instructions to understand setting icons for each appliance.
•
“Estimated Monthly
Electric Bill” only updates when you exit an appliance.
•
After all the
input, there is no final report, no synopsis of what has been entered.
Editor's Note:
The purpose of evaluating these apps was to find one that would help
consumers simulate the benefits of investing in a SUNRNR. These apps, although educational regarding
consumption, did not accomplish the intended mission. Stay tuned for further options for simulating
a SUNRNR as part of your everyday electrical power reduction.
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