It may help a family make lifestyle changes to reduce its electricity if family members can see how much is being used. How can a family  do this, and what are the savings?

It is surprising how some minor lifestyle changes can affect the amount of energy your home consumes. It can also affect when you use electricity.

Controlling what’s called peak demand can make a big difference for all of us. Peak demand is like rush hour for the electric grid — the time of day when folks come home, switch on lights, crank up the air conditioner and start bustling around the house. If you want to always have electricity available, your electric cooperative has to have enough electric generation capacity to meet this peak consumer demand. And since building a generating plant is extremely expensive, using less electricity during these peak times can eliminate or delay the need for more plants, keeping electric rates down.

In order to trim energy use in a home, it may help to first educate family members on which electric devices use the most electricity so they can minimize the use of these devices. Generally, any appliance or device that creates heat uses the most electricity.

Some devices that do not have heating as their primary purpose may surprise you with the amount of heat they put out (essentially a waste of energy). You might consider labeling some of these devices with a red sticker to remind everyone of the major electricity consumers.

A number of new energy management devices are available to help monitor and control the electricity used in your home. The simplest ones basically accomplish the same goal as watching the electric meter.

An example is the Power Monitor by Black & Decker. This is a two-piece system: a wireless sensor attaches to the electric meter outside, and a small digital display is kept inside to relay the meter reading. Local electric rates can be programmed in to accurately calculate the real-time cost in dollars. In order to see how much a specific appliance costs to use, just switch it on and watch the display to see how much more electricity is being used. These work on most electric meters but not all, so check the Black & Decker website for compatibility.

Another more expensive example is TED (The Energy Detective) by Energy, Inc., which operates in a similar fashion except it senses electricity use from current transformers on the circuit breaker panel. There are two TED models:  The more advanced “TED 5000” can be monitored from a personal computer or even a mobile phone, taking all the mystery out of how much electricity your home is using at any given time.

More advanced energy management systems have wireless sensors on electric and gas appliances. The main control unit and display compiles this information so you can program and control the electricity use of each appliance. If there are problems or excessive energy use alerts, these systems can send notifications by email or text message.

Some electric utilities are installing smart electric meters that allow two-way communication between the utility and the home meter. This can be used to lower peak demand. Through a voluntary program, the utility can be allowed remote access to switch off a water heater or lower the thermostat when systemwide electricity use is at its peak. In return, the utility typically compensates the home owner by providing free maintenance of the appliance or may adjust electric rates.

Have more questions? Send them to: James Dulley, Colorado Country Life, 6906 Royalgreen Dr., Cincinnati, OH. Or visit www.dulley.com