How to Save Money by Monitoring Energy

The fact is that the days of unmonitored electricity usage are fast coming to an end, and this is for two good reasons. The first one concerns the pocketbook. You see as the cost of power increases, consumers around the globe are discovering that by simply monitoring their consumption, they in fact use less.



How and why? Well there are several reasons for this, but the first thing that you should know is that power companies have known this fact all along but kept the information from their customers to keep consumption levels, and the resulting power bills up. Remember that they are "for profit" businesses.



The second reason more people are monitoring their power usage in real time now is a growing awareness that excess consumption does in fact have a detrimental effect on the planet. You see even if your power comes from a green source, excess usage means there is less of it to replace non carbon neutral power being generated somewhere else.



So then in real terms what are some of the things that you can discover in your own home, or business today that you can then use to keep more money in your pocket? Well would you believe that if you own a TV set, and you probably do own more than one, 70% of the electricity that it consumes is when it is off?



That's right! And it's also why frugal consumers are now switching to "direct on and off" devices that turn sets on by controlling the power at the plug, rather than from inside the TV. These devices function just like a standard remote, so there is no change in actual function, they just cut off "all" the power to the set.



Monitoring energy also allows business owners to discover the precise amount of power that their shop, or office is using when they're closed for the night. Not only do these devices read out the amount of power used, but they also instantly convert those numbers into monitary figures. That is how much it's costing them.



It doesn't end there though because with just one days readings you can extrapolate out what it's going to cost you over a week, month, and even a year to run your home or business while your sleeping or away for the evening. So all things considered, it's not hard to understand why most people who purchase devices for monitoring energy report a 25% savings in their first month.



Its also not hard to understand why these affordable, and easy to install devices in fact pay for themselves in as little time as three months. So then just how easy are they to install? They are incredibly easy to hook up because there's no wires to connect, and they operate by remote. Simply place the clamp around your main power line at your power box and that's it.



Then as the power passes through the main line, it's measured and the data relayed to a small hand held device that you keep in your home or business. Another nice convenience, is that software that's included with these devices allows you to connect them up to your computer so you can go online and monitor your energy usage even in real time if wish.



Chris Tyrrell writes for Ecofreak, an environmentally friendly online shop specialising in energy saving products such as the Owl Energy Monitor. Visit the website for more details.