According to research carried out last year, it was estimated that the average household in parts of Europe would spend roughly 16% of their income on energy bills in 2023, up from 9% in 2022. [1]

Much of this increase can be attributed to the rising costs of gas and electricity, which in some European countries rose by 36.2% and 17.3% respectively. [2]

So, given that heating accounts for over half of most typical households’ monthly energy bills, it is not surprising that the strain on our pockets has been felt in recent times. To combat this, many of us will have considered the changes we can make in our daily lives that will help reduce our energy usage and save money on energy bills.

However, whilst there is a lot of advice out there to help save money on energy bills, the key to really optimising efficiency in your home comes down to firstly understanding how you are currently using energy before taking action. So, how do we do this?

The good news is that the solution is not as complex as you may think.

With home energy management solutions (HEMS), you can get to grips with energy data from within your home in an easy to understand way. Let’s take a look at how…

Step 1 – Visualise your energy use

Visualising your energy usage makes it much easier to understand how your habits impact your energy bills and make informed changes that will result in cost savings. In fact, research has shown that by reducing energy wastage in this way, the savings can be as large as 8%, which for many households would be very welcome given the continually high energy costs.

The Wiser Home app provides a wide range of data and insights, all designed to help you develop a better understanding of the energy you’re using in your home.

For example, if your fridge is malfunctioning because it’s old, it could potentially be consuming energy abnormally. Thanks to the visual data Wiser provides, you can easily identify this and resolve the issue – in this instance, either getting it repaired or replacing it with a new more energy efficient one – before the running costs start to stack up.

Alternatively, you may spot in the data that running appliances such as your washing machine during peak hours of the day is causing a spike in your energy consumption, compared to running it during off-peak hours. By identifying the best time to run your loads of washing, you can make changes to your routine that will keep costs down.

Step 2 – Identify the energy guzzlers

When you can see the peaks and dips in your energy use, it becomes easier to identify the times and places you may be overusing energy and take action.

Let’s take heating for example, as it accounts for up to 65% of the home energy consumption.

Within Wiser, you can see how many times you have adjusted the temperature in your home and discover how external factors – such as the weather – affect your home’s energy efficiency. Additionally, you can also see how many times you have activated Wiser’s energy-saving Eco Mode and Away Mode, as well as the percentage of energy saved within the month by using these smart features.

Step 3 – Make wiser decisions

So, now you have a good understanding of your energy use and you’ve tackled the places you were over-using energy, how can you improve efficiency even further?

By incorporating a HEMS into your home, it becomes easier to manage the various loads required throughout the day. A HEMS will be able to shift your energy use to run during the time periods when tariffs are at their cheapest, whilst still ensuring your devices are running when you need them most.

This could include shifting larger loads such as EV charging to run during the night, as well as charging hot water tanks or storage batteries whilst you sleep so you effectively have free power at peak energy costs hours or you continue to be powered in the event of a power outage. All of this is done through clever automation, which means you can spend less time worry about making these changes manually.

By following these steps, not only can you benefit from reducing your energy bills, but you can also live a more sustainable lifestyle too. By optimising your energy usage and eliminating wastage where possible, you are also helping to reduce your carbon emissions, which – as you’ll have likely heard – is a key factor in achieving net zero and reducing the impact of global warming.

This article appeared in Schneider Electric and has been published here with permission.