Do you ever lie awake at night thinking about new ways to cut back on your energy consumption? You'll soon be able to rest soundly, because there's a new piece of technology that can make all your dreams come true. One of the trendiest ways to save energy with your home electrical work is by disaggregation, or breaking down consumption appliance by appliance so you can easily identify where you need to cut back. Now there's a way to hack into your circuit box and make disaggregation easy. Read on to learn more.

Reading the Data from the Circuit Box

There are a few different ways to acquire the data you need on the energy consumption of your various appliances and electronics in order to make informed decisions about conservation. One is to purchase all new smart devices, linked up to the Internet of Things, that let you monitor their performance individually. If you don't want to replace all your appliances and equipment just yet, you can purchase smart plugs that monitor the electricity usage of whatever you connect them to. There are also utility companies that are piloting disaggregation programs in homes that are hooked up to smart meters.

There's at least one device available, however, that allows you to look at all your appliances at once, without having to buy new equipment or rely on your utility company. The Neurio is a gadget that connects to your main circuit panel and monitors all the electricity that goes out through the various circuits in your home. Next, it sends the data to the Neurio server, where it is broken down even further to identify which devices are using how much energy. Then the data comes back to you, where you can read it using your smart phone or computer.

Informed Decisions About Your Electrical Work

From there, you can use that data and make decisions about when to cut back on using certain devices or appliances, or to run them at different times of the day. The Neurio will let you know just how much you're spending on powering things like dryers, and also tell you how much power you're wasting due to phantom loads or always-on technology. If you keep an eye on the data, you'll get an early warning when an appliance is lagging in efficiency, and know where you can make the most impact when it comes time to replace some of your older equipment with modern, energy-efficient devices.

Installing the Neurio is a somewhat complicated affair, involving connecting it to your main panel, so your best bet is to get an experienced electrician to handle the task. If you need help disaggregating your energy consumption, or any other modifications to your electrical work, contact a qualified residential electrician today.

How do tripped circuit breakers happen in the first place? An overloaded circuit is the most common reason for a breaker tripping and usually happens when a circuit has more electrical load connected to it than it really should have. Let’s say you have a 15 Amp circuit breaker that is protecting a 15 Amp circuit. If 20 Amps of current start flowing through it because a toaster, TV, radio and space heater were all connected to the same circuit and were on at the same time, then what you’re left with are tripped circuit breakers aimed to prevent overheating of the circuit.

Allow Kolb Electric, one of the premier electricians in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and all of Northern VA, to guide you through the process of resetting tripped circuit breakers, which is actually quite easy.

If your breaker continues to trip immediately after you’ve reset it, this is indicative of a direct short. Do not try to reset your breakers at this point. If these steps don’t help you resolve your tripped circuit breaker problem, it’s time for you to contact a quality electrician in Virginia who can uncover the source of the problem, which could be due to one of the following:

You've done everything you can to conserve energy in your house -- purchased the latest Energy Star appliances, insulated your walls, and turned your thermostat down to 68. But the next thing you know, your kids are leaving lights on in rooms they aren't occupying. Or staring into the refrigerator for minutes on end while all the cold air escapes through the open door. Or nudging the thermostat higher when you aren't looking. How can you convince your kids to help, not hinder, your efforts to cut down on energy usage?

Knowledge is Power

Your children can't make the effort to save energy if they don't know how. Help them start building good habits early, and make sure they’re aware of simple ways they can help lower the utility bills:

To save electricity:

To conserve water:

To keep your heating and cooling bills low:

What if They Don't Wanna?

Of course, every parent knows that telling your kid to do something doesn't mean it's going to happen. The trick is to get them to buy in. While one reason to conserve energy is to save money on your utility bills, children have a habit of taking mom and dad's money for granted, so that might not be your most persuasive argument.

Instead, try teaching them about how human reliance on fossil fuels is harmful to the environment -- but they can help make a difference. If your children have particular interests, like animals, you can tie the themes together -- tell them they can help protect animal habitats by doing their part to conserve energy.

Another trick is to give them a green light to correct you if you make a mistake like leaving the water running. That gives the kid some fun responsibility, and encourages them to be vigilant about your behavior -- which increases the likelihood they will be about their own.

Check out the Energy Star Kids program for more ideas on how to persuade your kids and get them excited about conservation, and for child-tailored activities to increase their knowledge and motivation. And remember, the best way to teach your kids how to conserve is to set a good example by doing it yourself.