LITTLETON, Colo. — So, you want to beat the heat by staying inside? The Denver metro area is expected to reach 100 degrees for several days.
Xcel Energy charges the most for energy from 3-7 p.m. CORE Electric charges the most from 4-8 p.m. Typically, that's the hottest part of the day.
It turns out, there is a way for you to know how much your air conditioning costs in real time.
“In the last hour, I spent about 9 cents for my upstairs air conditioner and about 9 cents on my downstairs air conditioner,” Shawn McLaughlin, Emporia Energy CEO, said.
McLaughlin owns a Littleton-based company that helps customers understand their real-time energy usage.
“For the last hour, I’ve spent 10 cents for my air conditioner, but if I were to click on the last week, it will update and you can see the last week, I spent $12 on my main air conditioner,” McLaughlin said. “We spent $10 charging our electric vehicle.”
His company attaches current transformers to the power feed between the utility meter and the main electrical panel and on the feeds that come out of each breaker.
“We can get individual energy consumption per circuit in your home,” McLaughlin said. “Allowing us to see exactly how much energy you’re using, real time, for things like your air conditioner, for your washer and for your dryer.”
The technology can monitor for unintentional usage too.
“It’ll even let you know if you’ve left lights on in your basement or your attic. Rooms that you don’t visit too often,” McLaughlin said.
The smart meter on your home will flash a series of numbers. It shows the date, the time and the number of kilowatt hours used for the life of the meter, but none of the numbers will show you the dollar amount that you are currently incurring.
“The only way you’re really going to know that is by gathering real-time energy consumption,” McLaughlin said.
The devices that monitor energy usage can help you make decisions in real time and can also make decisions for you.
“If my air conditioner turns on, I can pause my EV charger. If my oven turns on, I can adjust my air conditioner a couple of degrees, so they’re both not running at the same time, limiting that peak energy consumption,” McLaughlin said.
Within a few months, McLaughlin said that his app will also have a calculator that can tell a customer what their bill is based on time of use rates compared to opting out of time of use, which requires a year commitment for Xcel.
Until that application is ready, McLaughlin said there is one straightforward way to know if you are on the right pricing plan.
“If you were using the vast majority of your energy during peak hours, you probably want to opt-out. If your energy level is a little bit flatter throughout the day, time of use rate is going to be the best for you,” McLaughlin said.