Not sure what is sucking up so much energy in your home? Try a plug meter
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If you’ve ever had the unpleasant surprise of opening an unexpectedly high energy bill, you may have asked yourself – what happened?
The answer may take a bit of investigation, but it could prove well worth it to stop your bills from ballooning in the future. THE EASIEST WAY TO SAVE BIG IS BY SWITCHING A way to do this is to invest in a plug meter – an inexpensive device that tells you exactly what is driving up your bills. You can move the meter around, and measure the usage of any devices you suspect may be driving up your bill. And there is great variety on the market. Many meters allow you to input the cost of your tariff, and know exactly how much a device costs to run an hour. Highly-advanced “smart” models even allow you to turn your devices and appliances off or on. So which meters would work best for your home? Here are the advantages and disadvantages of two different meters: Using a smartphone to lower your energy bills 
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A Wi-Fi Smart Plug allows you to monitor your usage from your phone.
This meter is ideal for those who really want to have the ultimate control over their energy consumption. As a bonus, you can enhance the security of your home through remote commands, for instance turning your lights on and off when you’re away (such as on holiday), or when you might be arriving home late. Pros: *Can monitor patterns of usage over a long term, so you can adjust as needed. *Can turn power on/off to your appliances remotely, which may reduce usage (i.e. if you forget to switch something before you leave home) *Can be controlled by virtual “personal assistants”(such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assist) Cons: *Higher cost (£34.99) *Needs a compatible smartphone * Potentially longer set-up time An inexpensive way to monitor your energy usage: If you just want a simple answer when it comes to what your usage is, then an affordable digital meter may be the best answer. At about £10, they are cheap, allow quick set up, and still tell you everything you need to know in order to see if a device or appliance is driving up your energy bills. Pros: * Inexpensive (£9.99) * Easy set up and instant readings * No additional equipment required. Cons: * Doesn’t provide as much information on usage as a “smart” device. 
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Here’s how to lower your energy bills even more.
Once you have figured out what device may be pushing your bills up (and have made the necessary changes), there still is likely to be more money that you can save. That’s because regardless of how much energy you consume, the price you pay for your energy per unit has heavy bearing on how big your bill is. That’s why getting the lowest tariff possible is so important. Luckily, grabbing a bargain tariff is just as fast and easy as setting up a plug-in smart meter. Click here to find out how much you could save by switching. To get the best price, it’s important that you compare the whole market – something many price comparison sites do not do. Our price comparison service does show the whole of market (alongside the tariffs you can easily switch to through us) to make sure you get the best deal possible. It only takes a few minutes, and unlike energy meters, it’s completely free. You could potentially make a huge impact on lowering your energy bills. Couple that with cutting down your usage, and the savings could really be phenomenal. Learn how much you can switch and save here. |
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