Energy programs
Energy.gov – Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Discover practical tips and technologies to help you lower your energy bills, including home improvements, appliance upgrades, and more.
PG&E Bill Relief Programs
PG&E offers various bill assistance programs for low-income families and businesses. Learn about discounts and payment plans that may help you manage costs.
Energy Saving Equipement
SIEMENS Inhab Smart Home Energy Monitor
if your bill is ever higher than $2000 in any month of the year, this system will help you save $300~$500 on your high months. The system helps you monitor use and lets you know when you are spending more than if you were to use power at a later time.
NOTE: not great for solar. but there are other systems.
The Inhab energy monitor helps you manage the electricity usage in your home, at the circuit level.
- Time Of Use Management: Automatically limit the energy consumption of connected devices during your utility’s peak hours.
- Excess Solar Management: Set your devices to automatically consume your excess solar energy.
- Peak Demand Management: Set your Peak Demand goal and have your smart devices automatically adjust.
Electricity Usage Monitor
Purchase one or as many devices as you need to monitor the appliances you’d like to track. Perform basic calculations over a couple of weeks for each device, such as your refrigerator, dishwasher, washer, dryer, and other high-energy appliances, to determine how much electricity they use during peak times. With these calculations, you can identify which devices should be on or off during peak hours. You can also spot discrepancies in your appliances, determining if they’re overusing power or malfunctioning, or if you should only run certain appliances, like the dishwasher, during off-peak hours. Knowing the energy consumption of each device in your home will help you monitor your electrical usage and save money by operating appliances during cheaper times of the day.
CyberPower UPS System
Although this system will not provide daily monitoring, it will help protect your equipment. For example, if you have a computer or entertainment system plugged into it, you can see how much power it’s currently using. With some basic math, you can also calculate how much it costs you per day at full power usage. One of the key advantages of this unit is that it comes with a battery backup. So, if your Internet router and modem are connected, you could stay online for at least an hour or two during a power outage.
Having an uninterrupted power supply allows you to monitor your current usage and disconnect devices during periods of high power consumption. For instance, if you need to charge a device or run a gaming system, some could operate for several hours without drawing electricity from the wall.