监控您的用电量(electricity usage)可以帮助您跟踪您在能源上的花费。有了这些信息，您可以了解应该少用哪些电器来节省电费。
有许多不同的方法可用于跟踪您的用电量(electricity usage)，但我们将在本文中重点介绍三种方法。每个人都可以使用其中两种方法，但一种方法仅限于使用支持它的能源供应商的方法。(energy supplier)
通过您的能源供应商(Your Energy Supplier)使用智能电表和应用程序(Smart Meters and Apps)
对于那些能够获得支持的人来说，最简单的选择可能是直接从您的能源供应商(energy supplier)那里获得智能电表。
一些能源供应商(energy supplier)可能会免费提供智能电表和安装服务，而其他能源供应商可能会收取费用。有些可能根本不提供智能电表。最好直接联系您的能源供应商(energy supplier)
，了解他们提供的服务。
那么究竟什么是智能电表呢？那么，在每个家庭中，都会使用一个电表来仔细跟踪使用了多少千瓦时的电力。但是，非智能变体无法将此信息直接发送给供应商，并且没有太多关于它们的信息可以显示您花费了多少。
结果，您收到了一份估算的账单，而您经常对您每天在家中使用多少电而摸不着头脑。
智能电表本质上是电表的升级版。智能电表可以将能源使用(energy usage)数据直接发送给您的供应商，这意味着更准确的价格。更重要的是，智能电表可以为您提供有关您花费了多少的宝贵信息。一些智能电表甚至包含具有精美仪表板的应用程序，这些仪表板充满了统计数据和信息。
这种方法非常适合那些不想要太多初始投资的人——(investment –)就像我之前说的，有时你可以免费获得这样的仪表，或者如果没有，可以从供应商那里以合理的价格获得。
但是，在查看特定设备的能源使用情况(energy usage)时，智能电表并不能满足您的要求。除此之外，并非全球所有能源供应商都会提供智能电表。
(Device Specific Monitoring)使用智能插头进行(Smart Plugs)设备特定监控
我的下一个建议是购买智能插头。这些是直接插入任何墙壁插座的(wall socket)电源插座(power socket)适配器。然后，您将您的电器和电子设备插入智能插头。智能插头充当墙壁和电器之间的中间人，收集有关正在使用多少能源的数据。
该数据然后直接发送到
智能手机应用程序(smartphone app)。您使用的应用程序将取决于您使用的插头，但通常您会获得有关设备正在使用多少能源的信息，以及对您花费多少的估计。
不过，并非所有智能插头都具有监控功能。有些只是为了通过Alexa、Siri或Google Home等助手添加家庭自动化(home automation)。在购买智能插头之前，请(Make)务必仔细检查是否包含能源监控(energy monitoring)功能。例如，Amazon Smart Plug无法监控您的使用情况，但WeMo Insight 插头(WeMo Insight plug)可以。
(Smart)如果您想结合智能电表或其他整个家庭监控系统来监控特定电器，(home monitoring system)智能插头可能会很棒。
它们也非常适合忘记关掉墙上电器的人——智能插头可以为您自动执行此过程。唯一需要担心的是，您需要大量投资才能覆盖家中每个使用过的插座。最好将它们用于电加热器等吸能设备。
家用电气监控系统
如果您想获得更多关于您家中能源使用情况的实时数据，或者您无法从电表(electricity meter)获得任何可靠信息，那么家庭监控系统(home monitoring system)可能是解决方案。
您可以在不同的价格范围内获得各种产品，但我们认为像 geo Minim这样的小型自安装显示器是合适的。这些将花费您大约 50 美元，并且可以直接从任何旧电表(electricity meter)监控信息。这些监控系统对于跟踪实时能源使用情况(time energy usage)和跟踪您每天的实际花费非常宝贵。
从本质上讲，这些系统采用标准仪表(standard meter)已经输出的信息，并通过软件将其转化为图表、图形和能源成本的详细概述。
我认为这个选项非常适合无法从能源供应商(energy supplier)处获得智能电表的人。或者，对于拥有功能有限的智能电表的人来说，这可能是一个不错的选择。它不能用于监控特定的电子使用情况。这意味着您仍然需要将其与智能插头配对以获取更详细的能源使用信息。
概括
最终，最好从亚马逊购买家用电气(Amazon)监控系统(monitoring system)，或者先从供应商那里购买智能电表。有了这个，您可以使用应用程序或显示界面来查看您每天使用的能量。更重要的是，这两者都可以一目了然地展示您每天、每周和每月的能源使用成本。(energy usage)
为了更彻底地使用能源(energy usage)，您需要购买智能插头。但是，当您开始在家中添加更多智能插头时，价格确实会增加。
您对我们提到的技术有何看法？你自己试过吗？如果是这样，您的经历如何？如果您有任何想法或意见，我很想听听。
How to Monitor Your Home Electricity Usage
Monitоring your electrіcity usage can help you
keep track of how much you are spending оn your energy. With this іnfоrmation,
you can learn what appliances should be used less often to ѕave on your еnergy
bill.
There are many different methods available that
can be used to track your electricity usage, but we will be focusing on three
methods in this article. Two of these methods are available to everybody, but
one method is limited to those that use an energy supplier that supports it.
Through Your Energy Supplier with Smart Meters and Apps
Perhaps the easiest option for those that can
get support for it is to get a smart meter directly from your energy supplier.
Some energy suppliers may offer smart meters
and an installation for free, whilst others may charge for it. Some may not
offer smart meters whatsoever. It’s best to contact your energy supplier
directly to find out what they have to offer.
So what exactly is a smart meter? Well, in every home, a meter is used to carefully track how many kWh’s of power are used. However, non-smart variants can’t send this information directly to the supplier, and there’s not really much information on them to show you how much you are spending.
As a result, you’re given a bill that is an estimate, and you’re often left scratching your head about how much electricity you are using in your home each day.
A smart meter is essentially an upgraded version of a meter. Smart meters can send energy usage data directly to your supplier, which means more accurate prices. More importantly, smart meters give you valuable information about how much you are spending. Some smart meters even have included apps that have fancy dashboards filled with stats and information.
This method is great for those that don’t want too much initial investment – like I said earlier, sometimes you can get such a meter for free, or if not, for a reasonable price from a supplier.
However, smart meters don’t do you much justice when it comes to viewing the energy usage from specific appliances. On top of this, not all energy suppliers across the world will offer smart meters.
Device Specific Monitoring with Smart Plugs
My next suggestion would be to buy smart plugs. These are power socket adapters that plug straight into any wall socket. You then plug your appliances and electronics into the smart plug. The smart plug acts as a middleman between your wall and your appliance, gathering data about how much energy is being used.
That data is then sent straight to a
smartphone app. The app you use will depend on which plug you go for, but
typically you’ll get information about how much energy an appliance is using,
and an estimate on how much that will cost you.
Not all smart plugs have monitoring capabilities, though. Some are simply designed to add home automation through assistants like Alexa, Siri, or Google Home. Make sure you double check energy monitoring features are included before purchasing a smart plug. For example, the Amazon Smart Plug cannot monitor your usage, but the WeMo Insight plug can.
Smart plugs can be great if you’d like to monitor specific appliances in conjunction with a smart meter or another entire home monitoring system.
They are also great for people who forget to switch off appliances at the wall – a smart plug can automate this process for you. The only concern is that you’d need to invest a lot to cover every single used socket in your home. It’s best to use them for energy suckers like electric heaters, etc.
Home Electrical Monitoring Systems
If you’d like to get more real time data on
how energy is being used in your home, or you can’t get any reliable
information from your electricity meter, a home monitoring system could be the
solution.
You can get a variety of products at differing price ranges, but we think small self-installation monitors like the geo Minim are suitable. These will set you back around $50 and can monitor information directly from any old electricity meter. These monitoring systems can be invaluable for keeping track of real time energy usage and tracking how much you are actually spending each day.
In essence, these systems take the information
a standard meter is already outputting and they turn it into charts, graphs,
and detailed overviews of your energy costs via software.
I think that this option is great for somebody
that cannot get a smart meter from their energy supplier. Alternatively, it can
be a good option for somebody that owns a smart meter with limited
functionality. It cannot be used to monitor specific electronic usage. This
means you’ll still need to pair it with smart plugs for more detailed energy
usage information.
Summary
Ultimately, it would be best to go for a home
electrical monitoring system from Amazon or get a smart meter from your
supplier first. With this, you can use an app or an in-display interface to see
how much energy you are using each day. More importantly, both of these can
showcase the cost of your daily, weekly, and monthly energy usage at a glance.
For more thorough energy usage, you’d need to
purchase smart plugs. However, the price really adds up when you start to add
more smart plugs to your home.
What are your thoughts on the technology we
have mentioned? Have you tried them yourself? If so, how has your experience
been? If you have any thoughts or comments, I’d love to hear them.
