by Tim Osland | Apr 20, 2018 | Blog, Electricity Bill, Energy Reduction, green ideas, hydro bill
Phantom power: your home’s devices and appliances, when plugged in, continue to draw power even when they are off
It is called “phantom” or “standby” power, and it could account for up to 10 per cent of your home’s energy use. The average home has 25 or more electronic devices that use phantom power, costing approximately $200 or more a year in electricity. (in a 2,000 sq ft home)
Track your phantom power with the MyEyedro Phantom Energy plugin. The MyEyedro software provides you with a 24 hour window of your phantom power usage.
How Do I Identify the “Phantoms”?
- Appliances with remote controls (TV, Video and Audio Equipment)
- Appliances with continuous digital displays (Clock on Stove, Coffee Maker)
- Appliances with rechargeable batteries (Cordless Phones, Laptops)
- Appliances with external power supplies (Cell Phone Chargers, Electronics)
How Do I Get Rid of the “Phantoms”?
- Plug devices into power strips – and turn them off
- Unplug appliances when not in use
- Use clocks powered by rechargeable batteries
When buying new appliances, choose appliances with low standby power and look for the Energy Star symbol
For more information on Home Energy Monitoring please visit https://eyedro.com/
by Stacey McCuaig | Jul 28, 2017 | Blog, Electricity Bill, Energy Reduction, green ideas, hydro bill
Big Savings with LED Lighting
*Based on 2 hours per day @ 0.10/kWh
Which Type of Light Bulbs Should you Choose?
In these days of rising electricity prices it may be time for a whole home light bulb retrofit. With a quick look at the above infographic it quickly becomes apparent that significant savings are to be had by swapping out incandescent bulbs for LED lighting.
Incandescent bulbs are inexpensive to purchase but tremendously inefficient as they dissipate most of the energy they consume as heat.
The cost of running one 60 watt incandescent bulb for 2 hours per day at 10 cents/kWh, would cost $4.38 per year. The 15 watt compact fluorescent equivalent would cost $1.10 per year and the LED version comparable to the 60 watt incandescent would only cost $0.66! Now multiply that by the average number of bulbs in a home.
The average number of light bulbs in a home is 24 according to Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency 2007 statistics. When you multiply the yearly dollar figures of the incandescent and LED bulb by 24 that’s when the savings opportunities really become obvious: $105.12 vs. $15.84!
While initially LED bulbs were quite expensive to purchase, they have in recent years come down in price and are now very affordable.
The advantages of LED lighting are clear:
- Extremely energy efficient compared to traditional light bulbs
- No toxic mercury risk like CFL
- Affordable
- Very long life if you purchase good quality bulbs (this may or may not apply to dollar store finds – caveat emptor)
Try a little experiment! Install each type of bulb one by one in a lamp and check how much power is being consumed using your Eyedro Real-Time Electricity Monitor. Saving electricity can be fun, saving money even better.
Ready to dig a little deeper into your energy usage?
by Stacey McCuaig | Jan 20, 2017 | Blog, Electricity Bill, Energy Reduction, hydro bill, MyEyedro
Prompted by popular “demand” for a means to capture electricity demand, Eyedro is pleased to announce the addition of the new Portfolio plugin to our MyEyedro electricity monitoring platform.
The Portfolio view allows the MyEyedro user to determine 30 Day Peak Demand selectable by date, Instantaneous Peak Demand, 24 Hour and 30 Day Consumption.
In order to activate the Portfolio plugin the user’s MyEyedro account must have at least 2 display groups. In the case where a user has only one Eyedro device, a duplicate display group can be created.
For more information on the Portfolio plugin see page 58 of the MyEyedro User Guide.
Electricity Demand Explained
Electricity Demand is the maximum amount of electricity being used at any given point in time. Demand fluctuates throughout the day. For example, in the morning as people get up and get ready for work, take showers, run their cappuccino machines, hair dryers or waffle makers, electricity demand increases. In the early evening there is a second period of peak demand as people arrive home from work, turn on lights and appliances, cook dinner, fire up computers, etc. The greater the electricity demand, the greater the strain on the electrical grid to supply that demand, which is why many utilities will charge the consumer more during times of peak demand (Time-of-Use electricity rates). Time-of-Use rates are intended to take some of the strain off the grid by encouraging conservation at times of peak demand.
30 Day Consumption View:
30 Day electricity Consumption Data
24 Hour Consumption View:
24 Hour Electricity Consumption Data
