Remember that REMC members can always call Brooke and Doug to perform a free home energy analysis. They will evaluate the energy efficiency of your home and help you understand the ways you use energy. Call 1-800-672-8212 to schedule an analysis.

Dear Brooke and Doug,

My neighbor told me about a program that REMC offers called Energy Usage Alerts. He says he has received text messages that tell him when his home is consuming an unusual amount of energy. That sounds good, but I already receive so many texts, so I’m not excited about signing up for more texts. However, if the program saves me money, I should do it. Can you provide some examples of what these alerts are and how they work?

Wondering in Westmoore

Dear Wondering,

Thank you for asking about this program. You are correct – the alerts can save you money on your bill. They help us identify potential problems like an appliance with increased usage, devices that may be using power even when turned off and faulty equipment that consumes excessive energy. They can also help us identify if a member is using energy at peak times without realizing it.

Sometimes members get the alerts and then call us to their homes to try to get to the bottom of the mysterious and sudden increased energy usage. While we can’t necessarily fix the problem for them, we can help to identify the culprit so the members can take the appropriate action. Here are some examples of what we see while on the job. We have changed all the names of the members to the stories anonymous.

EV Charging All Your Money Away

Bob called us because he started receiving a high Energy Usage Alert after signing up for the program a long time ago. Doug asked him if he had recently bought any new appliance that consumed energy, and he said he had just that week bought a new EV for the first time. He had installed a home charger and began charging as soon as he returned home from work, around 5:30 p.m. This time corresponded to the time on his account when energy consumption spiked. Doug helped him realize that if he stopped charging his EV during peak times and instead programmed his car to charge between the hours of 10:00 pm and 5:00 am, his bill would not be as high. Charging an EV at home by taking advantage of REMC’s off-peak rates is the best way to prevent your electric bill from getting out of control. Bob solved his problem by adjusting his habits.

 Hot Tub Hiccup

Brooke received a call from Helen who, like Bob, did not know why she was receiving high Energy Usage Alerts. Much like Bob, in our earlier story, Helen had recently bought a new piece of equipment: in this case, a hot tub. Brooke told Helen that hot tubs, which use electricity to heat the pool water, can significantly increase power bills, but Helen was not inclined to believe this. Brooke asked Helen to turn off her hot tub for one day to test this theory. Helen did, and did not receive a high use notification that day. Brooke advised Helen not to keep her tub on all the time if she wasn’t planning to use it frequently. She also encouraged Helen to examine her daily energy usage in her online account. This will help Helen pinpoint exactly when higher consumption begins and ends.

Cool Connections

Brooke and Doug went to Carla’s house after she received a week of high usage alerts. At first glance, everything inside Carla’s doublewide seemed good, until Doug put his hand in front of a vent on one side of the house. Brooke and Doug then realized that vents on one side of the house had forced cool air, while vents on the other side of the house had no air flow. Our energy advisors then went under Carla’s house into the crawl space and discovered what they had suspected would be the culprit. Under her house, her crossover duct was disconnected which meant that Carla’s air conditioner was forcing air into the crawl space under the house instead of adequately cooling her home.

Because Brooke and Doug have years of experience in detecting these problems, they often can identify issues readily and describe next steps so members can remedy the problem. It’s important, however, not to get discouraged if the issue does not seem apparent at first. Here are some tips to keep in mind about high energy usage alerts:

• Signing up for Energy Usage Alerts can save you money by prompting action to fix the problem before your bill gets out of hand.
• You can call our Energy Advisors Brooke McNeill and Doug Loflin to provide a diagnosis of your problem.
• The energy analysis service Brooke and Doug provide is free to our members.
• Brooke and Doug are excellent energy detectives, but they cannot necessarily fix the problem for you. If your appliance is faulty, they will advise you to seek repairs with the appropriate technician.
• Some common excessive energy consumption culprits are water heaters, heat pumps, space heaters and auxiliary heat. Faulty equipment can cost you money. This is why the early identification from Energy Usage Alerts is so valuable.
• Sometimes appliances are not faulty. Instead, it’s your habits and behaviors that are costing you money. Brooke and Doug can help you analyze down to the hour when your power bill gets more expensive so you can adjust your habits and save money.
• Familiarizing yourself with your daily average energy usage will help you make good choices that can save you money on your power bill.
• You can analyze your usage on your online account and in our REMC app. You can even look at the past 30 days, 90 days and custom time periods.
• You can also have more control over your power bill by signing up for Levelized Billing, which averages out the past 12 months of energy bills and charges you the average per month instead of the actual amount. If you have a costly repair from faulty equipment, then the last thing you need is to pay a high power bill. If you have signed up for Levelized Billing, however, you will pay that higher-than-normal amount over time. This way, the pain is not so sharp when you have also had to pay for repairs.

If you have any questions about anything regarding Energy Usage Alerts or energy analysis, please reach out to our Energy Advisors at 1-800-672-8212 or please fill a free energy analysis form. Brooke and Doug are always happy to help members solve their energy problems and save money