How to Measure Home Power Usage?

You can reduce the home utility costs by conducting home power usage measurements or audits. If you think doing so is a tedious task, think again. After all, all firms and modern individuals are conducting it too effortlessly. 

To be a responsible citizen and human to conserve energy, this type of audit is necessary. So, you can refer to the steps mentioned below. 

Reading these, you gain better knowledge on auditing the energy consumption system in your house. For this, you won’t depend on any exorbitant agency or company. 

Steps To Measure And Audit Home Power Usage Easily:

Check for unnecessarily open windows or doors to maintain room temperature:

We overlook a few things in open windows or doors while using a heater or an air conditioner. Because of those open spaces attached to your room, the air loses the temperature it should maintain.

If this continues, you are using heaters or ACs for long hours by wasting the power supplied to your home. It will end up costing you a lot at the end of the month. 

To avoid such wastage of power consumption, close the doors and windows on time which also helps maintain an appropriate room temperature. 

Check for leaks amongst the AC or heaters you use:

If you think the power usage rate is way too costly this month, one such reason can be leaks within the AC/heaters or similar devices. To check those, first shut off the HVAC system to avoid any severe damage. 

Then, light up a candle and move it around the device carefully. If there is any leak inside the device, its air will change the flame’s movement. Then, you can get the device fixed by a technician before using it again wastefully. 

Inspect all the ducts in the room to avoid wastage of energy:

Check the ducts and shafts that might be left open in the room. These ducts or open corners might be very small in the given area where AC or HVAC is used. And if you let them be open, the effect of using AC or heaters is negated. 

It means you end up using the devices unnecessarily for more hours. Therefore, while auditing your home’s energy usage, check all the important and overlooked ducts.

Tape them or get them cemented if you think these ducts bring in dust and let out the heated or cold air. 

There might be a problem with the air insulation at your home:

Ventilation and insulation systems help clean the air properly inside homes. But if the air quality is poor or bad, even the AC or heater system might fail to maintain the regular temperature you need. 

The best is to get the insulation and ventilation system checked every 3-6 months. This will keep your air clean. Then, you can manipulate the indoor temperature accordingly without wasting energy. 

Plus, you won’t overuse electronic devices like HVACs or heaters/air conditioners as the season changes. 

Switch off all the electronics that are not in use at the moment:

The best way to measure and audit the power consumption at home is to use electronic devices judiciously. To do that, you should turn off the devices that aren’t in use. 

For instance, don’t let the computer, charger, laptop, or any similar system run the entire day. We know that their power consumption can be low compared to air purifiers, water filters, ACs, or heaters. But be responsible and turn these devices off whenever you can. 

This behavior also helps in increasing the longevity of life of each device. That’s because there are fewer chances of overusing electronic and smart devices. 

Use LED bulbs at home:

Many lightbulbs and tube lights consume a lot of power. These are mainly incandescent lights. They consume enormous energy because of their high voltage or wattage. However, now the technology is more advanced. 

Therefore, you can use LED bulbs and lights. They have low wattage and won’t burden your power consumption bill. People save up to 30-50 percent every month and year by using LED lights at home. 

Moreover, many LED lights are now smarter. They can be operated from phone apps. You can change their setting, wattage, shine, and color with a simple click on their mobile app.