Why is it more essential than ever to monitor energy consumption at home? To avoid waste, of course, but what exactly does that mean?
To begin with, being aware of your household energy consumption helps you identify areas where you can cut costs (financial waste!), for example by discovering that an appliance is using more energy than expected and therefore needs replacing. Similarly, keeping track of energy consumption helps you plan your household budget more effectively: understanding consumption patterns allows you to forecast and manage energy costs more efficiently.
Then there is the factor of energy efficiency: regular monitoring of consumption can reveal any appliances or even habits that cause waste (of energy!), and thus enable you to take measures that optimise energy use. Not to mention, of course, that regular monitoring can help identify any technical problems or malfunctions in appliances. If a device is using more energy than usual, it could be a sign of an impending fault… or, unfortunately, one that has already occurred, as in the case of a fridge-freezer where the freezer compartment isn’t freezing. In such circumstances, being able to diagnose the problem and take prompt action is essential both to avoid inconvenience and unexpected out-of-pocket expenses.
Not enough? Let’s talk about the waste of resources. Reducing energy consumption helps to lower your carbon footprint and environmental impact: using less energy means reducing greenhouse gas emissions and being less dependent on non-renewable energy sources, but also managing our planet’s energy resources more effectively, as they are limited and therefore precious.
Finally, it is an important choice because it encourages more conscious and responsible behaviour regarding energy use, such as switching off lights when they are not needed and optimising the use of household appliances.
Today, keeping an eye on our daily energy consumption is possible, both at home and away from home (remote monitoring is a system that allows you to check and analyse energy consumption via the internet, using sensors and smart devices), thanks to the availability of numerous tools and platforms that make the process simple, quick and intuitive.
One of these is the Freedompro Home app, which – as we mentioned in our article published a few weeks ago – has recently been enhanced with the new ‘Consumption’ feature.
Let’s take a closer look at the new ‘Consumption’ feature of the Freedompro Home app
The new “Consumption” section of the Freedompro Home app allows you to track the energy consumption of all accessories connected to Freedompro’s Smart Modules, whether in real time or, so to speak, historically.
We provided a more comprehensive overview of its main features in a previous in-depth article, which you can read via this link, and today we want to analyse the section in a more streamlined and practical way.
As you explore the app’s interface, you’ll find “Consumption” at the bottom of the screen, next to the Home and Habits sections. The icon is easily recognisable: a small lightning bolt!
By clicking on it, you’ll immediately see the real-time energy consumption of the devices connected to the Freedompro Smart Modules installed in your smart home, giving you an overview of what’s consuming how much at that precise moment.
Scrolling down, you’ll also find a button that will take you to our website to show you the other Smart Modules available in the catalogue, in addition to those you’ve already chosen (as well as some insights selected just for you). Just below that, under “Today’s consumption”, you can see the kWh consumed during the day.
And there’s more: by clicking on “Today’s consumption”, you’ll enter the very useful “My consumption” sub-section which, thanks to the handy drop-down menu, will allow you to view energy consumption for specific time periods:
- Day
- Week
- Month
- Year
- Since the beginning
You can assess your total consumption – that is, for all connected devices – by module type (e.g. lights and lighting, curtains and blinds, etc.) or even, by clicking on it, for a single device.
Would you like to know your average energy consumption over the last thirty days? This is also possible and presented in a simple way, namely with a handy graph: an instantly accessible visualisation that helps you make more informed decisions on how to optimise the use of connected devices and keep your energy consumption to a minimum.
Now that’s what we call comprehensive, smart and easy-to-understand monitoring! With the various information and options available in the ‘Consumption’ section of the Freedompro Home app, you can now make instant assessments and useful comparisons between your smart devices, optimising or reducing your energy consumption and making more informed decisions regarding your daily habits or the devices you’ve purchased – and will purchase.
Happy exploring!
