While your smart meter provides an overview of your home's energy usage, it doesn't break down the costs for individual appliances. However, by connecting any appliance to a Hive Plug and doing some simple calculations, you can determine these costs.
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Find Your Unit Rate: Start by checking your electricity bill to find your unit rate, which is the cost per unit of electricity.
2. Check Power Usage: Connect your appliance to a Hive Plug. The Hive app will display the power usage in watts.
3. Understand the Basics:
4. Calculate Daily Energy Use: Convert the watts shown in the app to kilowatt-hours. Multiply the watts by the number of hours you use the appliance, then divide by 1,000:
(watts×hours)÷1,000
Example Calculation: If your TV uses 1,200 watts and you watch it for three hours a day:
1,200 watts×3 hours=3,600
3,600÷1,000=3.6 kWh
5. Determine the Cost: To find out the cost of running your appliance, multiply the kWh by your energy provider’s unit rate, which you can find on your electricity bill.
6. Optimise Your Usage: With this information, you can adjust your usage to lower your energy bills. Hive’s smart scheduling feature can help you manage this, or you can switch off appliances remotely using the Hive app.
By following these steps, you can gain a clearer understanding of your energy consumption and make informed decisions to optimise your usage.