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There are many things you can do to reduce your electricity bill. The simple act of reducing your energy consumption has an impact on your savings, as every kilowatt-hour is paid for – and therefore every unused kilowatt-hour is a saving.
For instance, you can reduce time spent in the shower, turn off the lights when leaving a room, and even disconnect your electronic devices (computers, TVs, etc.) when not in use to avoid phantom loads. These are all good habits to adopt on a daily basis.
However, if you have subscribed to your power utility’s dynamic pricing program, you could boost even more your savings during peak events.
To get there, you must focus on what really pays off. Heating and water heating are the two big chunks in your electricity bill. Actually, when it’s freezing outside, heating alone can account for up to 80% of your electricity bill.
In addition, heating water accounts for about 18% of a household’s energy consumption, thus making it the second-largest contributor to the energy bill. In essence, an average family will spend up to $600 every year on water heating.
Basically, lowering the setpoint temperature of your thermostats and turning off the water heater during peak periods are the two most important things you can do to maximize your energy savings.
To make things easier and optimize your savings during peak periods, smart devices are definitely a must. If your smart devices are equipped with a feature allowing you to automate your power utility’s grid, as Éco Sinopé does, that’s even better.
You’ll also need a smart water heater controller that you connect to your electric water heater to automatically turn it off at the beginning of the peak period. The Calypso Smart Water Heater Controller is equipped with a temperature sensor to ensure maximum comfort and protection when it is turned off. It is also possible to connect a water detection cable to the controller to detect potential leaks and cut off the power supply to the hot water tank using an automation created in the Neviweb app.
The first rewarding move is to reduce the heating. Here are some great hacks to make the most out of it.
By lowering the setpoint temperature of your thermostats by at least 2 °C, you are improving your chances of achieving the best energy savings.
The goal is to reduce consumption in kWh during the defined period. Ideally, the heating must not turn on during the peak period. When the setpoint is low, there is less chance that your thermostat turns back on before the event ends.
Do not lower the set temperature of your devices before the start of the peak! Unfortunately, this counterproductive action would cause your thermostats to turn back on before the peak event ends. It is essential to respect the start time of an event.
The ideal is to activate the Éco Sinopé feature so that your thermostats follow the times determined by your power utility.
If you are enrolled in a dynamic pricing program, the peak periods identified by your utility company pay the most. In the hours leading up to a peak event, avoid intentionally reducing the heat and activate the preheat option instead. This will ensure better comfort during the event and will prevent your thermostat from turning on during the peak period.
Your home is a whole, and each room interacts together. If you lower the temperature in one room, the thermostat in the next room may try to compensate to reach the requested temperature.
If you’d rather have only some of your thermostats follow the dynamic pricing guidelines, be sure to close the doors of rooms where the setpoint temperature is lowered.
Have you ever noticed the five lines underneath the room temperature on your Sinopé thermostat screen? Those indicate what percentage of power is needed for your device to reach the room setpoint.
If there are no lines, it means that your heating system works at 0% of its capacity, whereas five lines show that 100% of the capacity is required to reach the requested room temperature. Looking for the best-case scenario during peak periods? Try to have the least lines on your thermostat screen.
If you already use the Éco Sinopé feature, you know that everything is taken care of based on your selected profile.
The second rewarding move is to turn off your water heater during those identified critical periods – without even losing in comfort! Thanks to the smart water heater controller, you can automate the action instead of physically putting your breaker in the off position.
You can also choose to push the showers, the dishwasher or washing machine cycles outside of the peak periods, which take place between 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., when identified by your electricity provider.
Following a survey we conducted in spring 2021 among users of the Neviweb application, the majority (76%) of users surveyed confirmed their desire to reduce their energy consumption in order to maximize savings on their bills.
Among the people who activated Éco Sinopé for their connected devices in winter 2020-2021, 81.59% of participants reduced their electricity consumption even further by refraining from using their dryer and more than ¾ of participants did not use their washing machine or their dishwasher during these periods.
The participants also shared with us their favourite actions and those they took during peak periods to increase their energy savings:
There are many things you can do to reduce your electricity bill. It’s up to you to choose the ones that best suit your family and your daily life.
And you, what are your favourite smart moves and how do you maximize your energy savings at home?
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