Member James Claypool enjoys taking advantage of the electricity monitoring tools SmartHub offers.

SmartHub, available at bemc.org, is a free and easy way to:

• Manage your energy usage
• Pay your bill
• Report outages and service issues
• And more!

You can monitor your energy consumption on a monthly, daily and hourly basis, which can help you avoid unexpectedly high bills. Through easy-to-view, detailed charts and graphs, you can track your usage 24/7 and compare against historical data to find ways to save. Doing a comparison gives you a measurable baseline, and after taking into consideration any differences in weather, can point to possible changes in the functioning of certain equipment and appliances.

Brunswick Electric Member James Claypool: “I’m retired from an electric utility, but you don’t have to be to use SmartHub. It’s a really efficient tool that helps you keep track of how you use electricity. For example, when I know we’re expecting a few days of particularly cold weather, I’ll start monitoring my usage in the morning to see the effect that the weather is having on how much electricity I’m using. Over the course of the day, I can see that I’m on track to use five times what I might normally have during a 24-hour period. I can make adjustments accordingly, and also be prepared for a higher-than-average bill.

“Also, looking at this year compared to last, I can consider what is different – weather, new appliances and so forth – and understand why I’m using more or less electricity. It’s useful to see when something is happening abnormally with my appliances and HVAC. I can answer questions like, ‘How well is my heat pump working?’, ‘Are my heat strips coming on?’, and ‘Is my electric vehicle charging at the right time of day?’

“Being able to monitor your energy consumption brings your attention to and gives you an understanding of what’s going on in your house.”

SmartHub is Now Even Smarter

Using state-of-the-art technology, SmartHub can now identify the individual appliances in your home and how much energy it takes to operate them. Because they have distinct patterns of energy use, we can provide you with charts and graphs you can use to save energy and money. For best results, be sure to fill out your home profile the next time you log into SmartHub.