These days, there’s an app for everything, but few are as incredibly useful as Google’s PowerMeter. The app will soon be synched with Toronto Hydro’s new smart meters – soon to be up and running – to monitor your home energy use. Imagine getting detailed information on, say, how much power the TV is using or how much you’re saving using appliances in off-peak times.
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Besides the fact that the app shows you what energy holes need shoring up in your home, it’s cool that Toronto’s at the forefront of a tech jump.
“The Google tool will provide a snapshot [of your energy use] with a link to our website. Customers can then see when they use electricity,” says Toronto Hydro spokesperson Tanya Bruckmueller.
The red = bad, green = good colour-coded layout (with a lag of 24 hours) allows people to shift appliances to off-peak or mid-peak times, saving cash and relieving system strain.
“There will be a whole lot more functionality with managing your bill online,” adds Bruckmueller.
The idea is for people to stay aware of their energy habits through their daily Google interactions, and then go to the slick Toronto Hydro site for gritty chart or graph details.
Many of Toronto Hydro’s 688,000 customers are still on two-tier billing, where you pay a cheaper rate for the first 600 kilowatt hours, then your rate jumps. But as of September, 115,0000 customers have already transitioned to time-of-use billing.
Even if you’re not on the new system yet, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with seasonally changing peak hours. Until October 31, peak is 11 am to 5 pm weekdays, mid-peak is 7 to 11 am and 5 to 10 pm, off-peak is 10 pm to 7 am and weekends.
One place to start gathering info is Hydro’s 10 Smart Meter Lane tool, which helps you understand how much it costs to run your big appliances when you do and how much you can save by changing your habits.
Then, when the new billing plan kicks in, you’ll be ready to make more enlightened power choices without wasting precious kilowatt hours.
