Your Electric Bill Tells You How Much. But Not Where.

Why understanding where your home uses electricity may be the first step toward taking greater control of it By Grant Gotlinger, Neighbor & President of Got Electric LLC

Every month, your electric bill tells you exactly how much electricity your home used and what it cost. What it usually cannot tell you is which parts of your home were responsible.

That leaves homeowners trying to lower their bills with a fair amount of guesswork. We turn off lights, adjust thermostats and unplug devices, but are those really the places where the most electricity is going?

The numbers may surprise you.

Look Beyond the Light Switch

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, air conditioning alone accounted for 19% of residential electricity consumption in 2020. Space heating accounted for another 12%, and water heating another 12%. Add those together, and just three systems accounted for 43% of the electricity used in American homes.

That is why I encourage homeowners to look beyond the things they can easily see. A change in HVAC operation, water heating, an aging appliance or another high-demand circuit can have a much greater effect than leaving a few lights on.

The challenge is knowing which one deserves your attention.

Better Information Can Lead to Better Decisions

There is research behind the value of seeing more than a monthly total. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy reviewed 57 residential energy-feedback programs and found average electricity savings ranging from 4% to 12%, depending on the technology and program.

That does not mean installing an energy monitor automatically lowers your bill. What it tells us is that better information can help homeowners make better decisions.

You do not need data simply for the sake of having data. You need information that helps answer practical questions: What is using electricity? When is it using it? And is there something I could change?

The Electrical Panel Is Changing

For generations, the electrical panel has quietly done an important job: distributing electricity throughout the home and protecting its circuits. New technology is adding another capability to that job by helping homeowners understand how that electricity is being used.

One example is the SPAN smart electrical panel. SPAN provides circuit-level energy monitoring, allowing homeowners to see how individual circuits are using electricity rather than seeing only the home's total consumption. Through its app, homeowners can also review energy use over time and control selected circuits remotely.

That kind of visibility can help answer the question your monthly bill cannot: Where is the electricity going?

How Well Do You Know Your Home’s Energy Use?

• Do you know which systems use the most electricity in your home?
• Do you know when your electricity use is highest?
• Have you had bill increases you cannot readily explain?
• Can you monitor individual circuits or only total consumption?
• Are you planning to add a major new electrical load?
• Would greater visibility help you make better energy decisions?

If you checked three or more, it may be worth learning more about how your home is actually using electricity.

Before replacing an electrical panel or making significant changes to your home's electrical system, have a licensed electrician evaluate the existing service, panel capacity and household needs. Not every home needs a smart panel, and technology alone is not the goal. The goal is to understand your electrical system well enough to make informed decisions about where your electricity is going and what, if anything, is worth changing.