The following is not an actual OhmConnect member —it is a composite based on what we know about the facts. The good news is that this could be you! This story could be your story:
Okay, I'll admit it. When I first started researching smart tech for my apartment, I was all about convenience. I wanted to find new ways to have more control over my home and simplify my daily routines, whether it was adjusting my thermostat on the go or having the option of dimming the lights for movie night without leaving the couch.
Smart tech drew me in for its possibilities to automate my habits and create a more streamlined lifestyle. Along the way though, I learned an important lesson, and it's one I'm going to share with you: the benefits of smart tech go FAR beyond simply making your life more convenient.
In fact, in many ways, smart tech's other benefits are even better than the added convenience they can bring you. For example, investing in the right smart tech for your home can help you to live a more energy-conscious lifestyle (something most of us are striving to do already), and with the right strategy, you can save a bunch of money on your monthly electricity bills along the way.
Want to know more? Read on to discover how my $11 Amazon Smart Plug saves me over $27 every year!
Before I dive into the nitty-gritty details, if you're new to smart tech, you might be wondering, what is a smart plug anyway?
Well, like all smart tech, the 'smart' part of smart plugs comes from their ability to connect to the internet. This online connection enables you to take advantage of a whole range of additional features, typically through an app on your smartphone, such as monitoring energy usage, turning off outlets even when you're not home, creating automatic schedules for your devices and more.
You can connect smart plugs to all your energy-hogging devices, allowing you to keep an eye on how much energy they consume, disconnect during peak hours and ultimately maximize your energy savings as much as possible.
Here, we have used a bit of imagination to paint a picture of the experience of a pretty standard OhmConnect member:
I've tried a few different smart plugs in my smart tech journey, but my smart plug of choice is the OhmPlug Smart Plug WiFi Outlet. It only costs about $11 on Amazon, and in just one year, it's paid for itself twice over in savings. Here's how I use it.
Firstly, I use my smart plugs to take advantage of OhmConnect's energy-saving events. OhmConnect is a free program that enables its members to save energy and earn rewards in the process. Members can cash in their rewards for cash, gift cards, prizes and more. As an OhmConnect member, you receive a text or email during peak hours when electricity is most expensive in your neighborhood, giving you a chance to power down devices and save. The best part is, OhmConnect takes the energy you save by participating in powering down and sells that power back to the grid, sharing the profits with you.
When you connect a smart plug to your OhmConnect app, you can allow OhmConnect to power down your appliances automatically during these energy-saving events, giving you access to savings and rewards without the responsibility of having to remember to unplug each day! If you're not already a member, I highly recommend signing up. It's simple savings while doing something good for the planet (a no-brainer if you ask me!). Before we continue, click here to learn more and get started.
Okay, have you signed up to become an OhmConnect member now? Great! Let's move on.
The second smart habit I've adopted is making sure I have a smart plug connected to my refrigerator. Fridges can be one of the most significant energy-hogging devices in your home — but a smart plug can help reduce their consumption, saving you a bunch on electricity in the process. That's why each day, during peak hours, I create an automatic schedule through my smart plug app that powers down my fridge for between two and four hours.
I didn't know what to expect when I started this energy-saving routine. As I said before, I was motivated by convenience, but as time went on, the heightened awareness of my consumption habits had me looking for new ways to save on energy and do my part to reduce my impact on the planet. And the results were surprising!
I discovered that the combination of powering down my fridge for a couple hours each day and disconnecting my devices during OhmConnect energy-saving periods saved me just over $27 on my electricity bills in just one year! That covered the costs of investing in the smart plugs in the first place *and* paid for a few coffees in my reusable cup on the way to work — win!
Now I know what you're thinking — this all sounds great but won't powering down your fridge for a couple hours each day cause your food to spoil? I know, I thought that too, but the truth is it's totally fine!
According to the FDA, your fridge can be left without power for up to four hours without risk of food spoiling (provided the door is left unopened, of course!). This means it's totally safe to disconnect your fridge for a while during peak hours (in California, this is usually between 4:00 and 9:00 pm each day) when electricity is most expensive.
Once I saw the benefits to the planet, my lifestyle and my wallet, I was hooked on smart plugs, and I'm excited to begin connecting them to even more of the big energy-hogging devices in my home.
Here are a few of the ways to focus on powering down in 2023:
Remember: We have just describe an imagined OhmConnect member —but we used very real expectations:
The $27 annual savings estimate was based on the following calculation:
Energy saving hours per year: 730
Fridge hourly load: 0.08 kWh
Energy saved in OhmHours/AutoOhms: 58.4
% Energy shifted to other hours: 30%
Peak $/kWh: $0.45
$ saved on bill: $18.40
$ earned in rewards from OhmConnect: $9.31
We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations.
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