Sometimes the biggest challenge in saving energy is knowing where to start. Your monthly gas and electric bills come in big lump sums, so how can you identify the best opportunities to reduce your consumption? One of the smartest ways to get a clear idea of your energy consumption is to break it down appliance by appliance.

Disaggregation Technology

You can get a general idea of how much electricity your household devices use by reading the wattage labels and tracking how much time they are in use. However, to get an accurate picture of your household energy consumption, you need advanced technology that can break out and analyze exactly how much energy is being consumed by each appliance and device.

That's the gist of a recent report prepared by the energy startup Bidgely in cooperation with Pacific Gas & Electric. They teamed up to study 850 customers who were given a device that provided real-time readings on how much electricity their various appliances were using. The device used information it pulled from the home's smart meters to break down consumption for things like air conditioners, refrigerators and clothes dryers.

The data then allowed homeowners to make changes as to how and when they used their equipment, and the results were dramatic – households reduced their consumption by an average of 7.7 percent.

More Savings to Come

Most impressively, those gains came solely through behavioral changes. There remains much room for improvement if homeowners use the system to identify energy hogs in their households and replace inefficient appliances with newer, more efficient models.

Furthermore, the test was limited to people who already use time-of-day energy pricing, who tend to be savvier consumers when it comes to energy use.

“By definition, these people have already optimized some of their energy consumption in the home,” Bidgely CEO Abhay Gupta said to Greentechmedia. “We were able to demonstrate 7.7 percent energy savings on this time-of-use customer base. Imagine what we could do with a non-optimized home.”

Make Disaggregation Work for You

Bidgely is not the only company getting into the energy disaggregation game. Greentechmedia identifies others, like PlotWatt and Smappee, who are pushing into the market to provide the technology to help people save.

If you're interested in learning more about disaggregation or to find out if any of the companies are offering programs in your area, contact your local electrician, who can steer you towards the option that works best for your family.

solar lights to our online store, and there are a handful that I’ve been ogling since the day they took residence on our site. In a strictly professional quest to gain a better understanding of our product offerings (wink, wink) I requested some products for thorough evaluation. The first item to take the spotlight: The Solar LED White Washed Metal Lantern:

The Nitty Gritty:

This lantern would be an attractive addition to just about any style or decor. Use it with a beachy/coastal home or a rustic mountain cabin. I probably wouldn’t choose it as a decoration for an ultra-modern home, as it has a very vintage look.

Homeowners insurance is an often-overlooked but significant cost in owning a home. Your insurance policy protects you against major losses in the event of a disaster, but you need to invest in premiums each month, which can be tricky for any family on a budget. However, you do have a measure of control. Your home electrical work in particular plays a big role in calculating your insurance payments, because outdated or faulty wiring can increase the risk of a fire. Read on to learn about what types of wiring can drive up insurance rates and how you can mitigate the costs.

The Insurance Company Makes the Call

If you don't know what kind of wiring you have in your house, you should have an electrician evaluate your system as soon as possible. Since the risk of bad wiring is so catastrophic, it might be hard to even insure a house that is too far out of date. “Some insurers will not insure you at all, some will require an inspection, and some will classify you as high-risk,” CEO of insurance-services company InsurEye Alexey Saltykov told the Financial Post.

Any of these features could raise your premiums:

Upgrade Your Wiring and Save

If you are facing high insurance premiums because of outdated wiring, it means that your house is also at a greater risk of fire. It's well worth your while to ask an electrician about what it would cost to replace your wiring system with a whole new setup to protect your home and family. Cheaper insurance is just the icing on the cake.

Give the electricians at your local Mister Sparky® for any electrical repairs or upgrades. We're always here to help!