Want to reduce your carbon footprint? Ask your utility for a smart or time-of-use meter.

 

 

One of the biggest challenges in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is to link all our activities to electricity use. Electricity generation is one of the three principal sources of GHG (autos/transportation and deforestation/agriculture being the other two). We have to realize that we don’t just consume electricity when the AC/heater is running to keep the inside temperature comfortable, or when we’ve got every light on in the house with the stereo playing in one room, the TV in another, and the microwave popping popcorn in another. We use electricity every time we buy or discard something that was grown, sewn, or manufactured with the assistance of electricity—which is just about everything! So if we are serious about reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), then we need to be serious about how we use electricity. In other words, we need to use it more efficiently and we need to use less of it.

But how do we know how much electricity we are using? Besides the myriad carbon calculators available on the web, there is a new way to monitor your electricity use at your home or business. The technology is called a smart meter and, although it is not widely available yet, it is most certainly coming to a utility near you sooner rather than later.

The idea is that a smart meter installed in your home or business will track exactly how much electricity you are using each hour. Your utility will then be able to tell you how much the electricity cost during each hour (wholesale electricity prices change constantly in reaction to changes in demand), and you can then decide how to use the appliances in your house to help reduce electricity use, lower your electric bill, and, subsequently, reduce GHG emissions.

Smart meters will help you see how much electricity you are using and help you determine, for instance, whether you need to upgrade to more energy efficient appliances or use your appliances less often or at low-demand periods in the day. For instance, you can choose to run your dishwashers or clothes dryers in the middle of the night, when demand for electricity is low and so price is low, instead of the middle of the afternoon, when demand is high and prices are high.

While smart meters aren’t available for most consumers right now, many utilities already offer time-of-use metering. With time-of-use metering, energy used during peak times will cost you more than energy used at off-peak times. Your meter will allow the utility to monitor not only how much electricity you use each month, but when you used it—and then, they’ll charge you based on time-of-use rates. The time-of-use meter puts you in control of your energy use, enables you to save money, and allows you to see how your own peak energy use affects pricing in the overall system. Understanding how patterns of energy use affect electricity markets will make us all better, more responsible energy consumers. Simply call your PUC or your utility to find out if this program is offered in your area.