Pay as you go electricity plans allow consumers to pay for their electricity in advance. The plan, which uses prepayment meters, helps consumers to monitor and control the way they use electricity. This saves on energy costs.

Keypad based prepaid meters: This meter has a keypad to input the electricity token number. Consumers purchase the credit using a variety of methods. These include visiting the agent, paying through banks or mobile payments in some countries.

Key meter: Consumer uses an electronic key loaded with the tariff information and credit.

One way card system: Uses a disposable card. The user purchases power with a reloadable debit card. The loaded card is then passed near the meter, which has an in-built card reader.

Two-way card systems: Uses a smart card and the meters have a real-time, two-way communication capability. It is one of the most secure, but more complex and expensive methods to implement.

These allow consumers to interact with their meters and query balances using their mobile phones by sending an SMS to a monitoring system. In addition, the user is able to track electricity use by the hour, day, month or annually using the phone or online access.

These smart prepaid meters offer easier top up options. They include online payments or by text, as well as scheduled and auto top-ups.

When using a prepaid meter, the customer must keep track of the remaining credits and replenish to avoid disconnection.

Ensure there is enough credit when going away for long periods. The meter will continue collecting the standing charges even when on no load. Consumers should ensure they have enough credit to last until they return.

Some crooks will take advantage of the consumer’s lack of knowledge and offer them cheaper credits than those bought directly from the utility company. For example, they will sell their credits at half price. This is more common with Key Prepaid Meters and the crooks will usually have master Keys, which they use to top off the consumer’s meter.

If the energy company finds out, the consumer ends up paying twice for their electricity; first to the crook, and then to the energy company.

To avoid falling victim:

The media room is perhaps the most lived-in area of your home.  Whether you are watching TV or reading a book, the lighting should be comfortable, energy-efficient and beautifying.  Tune in to a picture-perfect setting with lighting tips from Capitol Lighting’s professional consultants.

1. Track and Recessed:  General or ambient lighting is a must in any room, but it is especially important in a multi-functional space such as a den or media room where there will be a wide range of activities that call for specific light settings.  Overhead lighting should be installed as part of the initial room design.   Oftentimes, a standard grid lighting pattern does not work well with your seating and furniture layout, so it is best to draw up your lighting design in the initial stages of planning.

NOTE:  In general, recessed cans should be installed 30 inches away from the wall and 4-5 feet apart.

Track heads, recessed and/or rail lights should be strategically located so as not to create glare or cast unflattering shadows upon individuals in the room.

Rail lighting from WAC Lighting highlights artwork;  hanging pendants provide soft ambient illumination and artistic accent light.  Rail and track lighting are highly versatile and allow for easy adjustments if you decide to change your decor.

2. Wall Lighting: Wall lights work well in a media room as they expand the space and provide an evenly distributed balanced illumination.

Image from HGTV.com “Must-see Media Rooms”

“Jaxon” wall lighting from Troy Lighting, available in a variety of color options

3.  Portables:  From sturdy reading lamps to decorative table lamps, portables are a useful addition to the multifunctional media room.  They provide individualized task light, as well as general illumination throughout the room.

Room design by Sandra D’Amata International

Ambience table lamp (shown above), Frederick Cooper “Script Reader” floor lamp and Minka-Aire’s “Great Room” fan from Capitol Lighting

4. Control Systems:  Dimming and automated control systems are a must for the media room.  Even if you have programmed your lighting controls into your Smart phone, wall switches with a variety of room settings and dimming capabilities are a good idea and are available in a choice of colors to complement your rooms’s decor.

Dimmer switch from Kichler Lighting

5. Special Considerations:  LED bulbs and LED light fixtures are suitable for media room lighting designs, just be careful to choose all your light sources with the correct color rendering, color temperature and shielding. Look for LED light sources that are dimmable and in warm (2700K)  color temperatures. *

LED torchiere floor lamp from Holtkotter

* Solid State Lighting and LED light sources are being refined so that predictable color rendering and color temperature will be more visually accurate.  A new metric to measure LED illumination is in the works:  The Color Quality Scale (CQS) will help to identify the visual characteristics of LED light sources more clearly, but right now–a bit of trial and error may help you find LED light sources that are complementary to your media room’s decor.

3 Keys to Remember:

*  Avoid having sharp areas of contrast between dark and light–illumination should be evenly dispersed with slight variations that allow your eyes to transition from reading a book, conversing with friends or watching  TV.

* Make sure lighting/fan controls are easily accessible–opt for a remote control system in addition to wall switches.

* Go for the most energy-efficient light sources, but do not sacrifice the overall look of your room.   If you are not using fluorescent or LED light sources, opt for eco-halogen or top quality incandescent bulbs in portable light sources.

St. Paddy’s Day is nearly here -- do you have your green outfit picked out? Regardless of whether or not you choose to go green in your mode of dress, St. Patrick’s Day is as good a day as any to go green with your energy consumption.

For most of us, conserving energy comes down to changing personal habits, and that can be difficult. So in the interest of starting small, Mister Sparky challenges you to pick one day to go green and see how easy it can be to make a change for the good of the planet.

To help you along the way, here are several ideas you can implement to reduce your carbon footprint over a 24-hour period:

Turn your thermostat down one extra degree all day, if you’re still using the furnace. If you live in a warmer region and are already using the air conditioning, turn the thermostat up a degree or shut it off altogether and open the windows. It’s an almost imperceptible difference in terms of comfort, but it adds up to real energy and money savings.

Turn off all electronics when they’re not in active use. This includes shutting down your computer fully -- sleep mode still uses energy!

Take public transportation for the day, or if the weather cooperates, ride your bike. If you have to take your car to work, ask around the office to see if anyone will carpool with you.

Be diligent about recycling. Many areas now have curbside recycling, which makes helping the planet easier than ever. But some trash still needs to be sorted or cleaned before it can go into the recycling bin, and unfortunately, not everyone takes the time. For your day of going green, make the effort to recycle every scrap of suitable trash.

Find a new way to go paperless. If you’re still receiving certain bills in the mail, see if you can register for an email alternative. If you’ve never e-filed your taxes before, make this the first year. You can even ditch the Post-It Notes and grocery lists by storing those little reminders on your phone.

Only run your washing machine or dishwasher when you have a full load -- otherwise, save it for another day.

If it is a laundry day, hang your clothes to dry. You don’t need to string up a line outside; just pick up an affordable drying rack that allows you to dry a whole load of clean clothes in a compact space.

Try dialing the temperature gauge back a notch on your hot water heater. We all like hot showers, but if your water heater is storing water at a higher temperature than you can comfortably tolerate, there’s room to cool things down a few degrees.

These are just a few quick and easy ways you can make a change. But if you’re ready to get serious about energy efficiency in your home, contact your local electrical experts to ask about energy audits, eco-friendly upgrades and other opportunities you maybe haven’t even heard about yet.