It is important to understand how to monitor your energy emissions personally and professionally. There are many ways the environment increases its electrical emissions without you even realizing it. There are simple ways you can improve your ability to monitor your electrical emissions.
Yes, an electric meter can go inside your garage. You should also check with your local power company. Your local power company will want to make sure all legalities are followed. You will need to check your fire codes with your fire department to make sure it is safe.
Installing your electric meter inside your garage is a convenient location that offers improved visibility. You can read your electric meter conveniently in your garage and notice any technical errors. This will help your home run be efficient.
The Purpose of an Electric Meter
The purpose of your electric meter is to measure the amount of electricity your home is consuming. Having your electric meter in a relatively close physical proximity helps your notice any technical or billing errors.
If you live in an area that is conserving electricity, having a metering system in close proximity to you offers an easy way for you to monitor electrical releases throughout the day.
Electric meters are important because they display the units of electrical emissions within your home. Having this number readily accessible allows your home to function more efficiently and monitor the energy use of your home. You can also closely monitor for any electric issues.
This device is both functionally important for the successful running of your home, but also provides an ease of mind.
How to Properly Use your Electric Meter?
When you choose to have your electric meter in your home on your premises, you should make sure there is a padlock. This can be provided to you by the electricity company.
You can remove the old lock of the electric meter and replace it with the new one. Make sure your meter is easily accessible for your usage.
After successfully locking your meter, you need to learn how to read your meter. This includes knowing how to read the readings of your meter. The normal readings record the energy usage of the first day of the month, and the second reading is at the end of the last day of the month.
The difference between the two readings tells you how much energy you used throughout the month. The number on the left is the first reading, and the number on the right is the second reading of the month.
If you have a digital reader, it is read similarly. You can read the digital meter by looking at the electronic display on the face of the meter.
Types of Electric Meters
There are five main types of electric meters. Original meters are flat-rate meters. Newer versions are known as smart meters. The meter you have impacted your electricity costs. Newer or smart meters have advanced features.
The four types include:
- Electricity Flat-Rate Meter
- Electricity Interval Meter
- Electricity Smart Meter
- Solar Meter
Solar meters have three subtypes you should be aware of. These three subtypes include:
- Net meters
- Bi-directional meters
- Dual Metering
What is an Electric Flat-Rate Meter?
An electric flat rate meter is a type of meter that records your electricity consumption since it was first installed or the last reset. You need to read your energy usage by checking how much energy your household consumes since the last checking.
A technician from your electrical company will visit your house to physically check the meter electromagnetically and record the data. You are billed on the difference between readings. Your most recent reading is compared to the one before it.
What is an Electric Interval Meter?
This meter involves a more advanced type of monitoring of your electrical output. The electrical company records your electrical output electronically.
They are able to record data through half-hour intervals. This is used using a digital display of the energy recorded.
What is an Electric Smart Meter?
An electric smart meter is more advanced than the interval meter. It has more functions than a traditional meter. You can understand how your household uses energy and find ways to conserve electricity.
Learning how to conserve and manage less electricity saves you money. Smart meters are now installed when you need a new meter. A smart meter measures your energy digitally and calculates the amount of electricity your household uses and when it is used.
This ability to know when the energy is used offers large savings. The smart meter is read digitally by sending data back to the energy supplier. Smart meters can let your supplier know when there is a blackout and measure the quality of your power.
How You Benefit from an Electric Smart Meter
You can benefit from having an electric smart meter because you have the most up to date information of your energy consumptions and what it is costing you. You can learn how to improve your energy management to save more money.
Electric smart meters offer increased ability to transfer and record data to your energy supplier. This reduces readings on your bill and fewer blackout instances.
You will also receive a better product and services. The apps involved with smart meters are technologically advanced and user friendly.
What is a Solar Meter?
A solar meter produces and uses solar energy. The three solar meters available to use are net meters, bi-directional meters, and dual meters.
The net meter shows the overall consumption of power within your home. The net meter displays the difference between what you have used and what you have generated.
A bi-directional meter is a three screened meter. The first meter shows a test screen, the second reveals the power coming into your grid, and the third shows the power going out to your grid from your solar meter.
The dual metering meter includes two separate unrelated meters on your property. The first meter shows the amount of electricity you are using from your grid. The second meter shows the amount of solar energy you are using.
What is an In-Home Display?
An in-home display is a visual aide that shows how much energy you are using in your home. If you do not want to travel far to check your energy usage, this is an easy way to monitor your usage.
The data of an in-home display is to show how much energy you are using and how it is increasing or decreasing over time. You can access this display onto your home computer or phone.
The version of the in-home display shows when you consuming a high, medium, or low amount of energy and how that relates to the price. The display shows your present electricity use, recent use, and how much you spend on electricity.
This is the most basic form of display, but you can also choose a more advanced home display system. This system includes showing:
- How much power is being used at any time
- Where in the house energy is used
- Which appliance to avoid during peak electricity times
- Amount of energy used over a specific period
- Past month
- Past day
- Past hour
To get started with using your in-home display, you need to know your correct time and billing schedule.
