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Health & Fitness

New Technology Helps Save Energy at Home

As an SDG&E customer, you can now purchase and install home area network devices to see how much energy your home is using in near real-time and help identify high energy use appliances.

Want to know how much energy your home is using at any given moment? If you’re an SDG&E customer, you can now purchase and install displays called home area network devices to see how much energy your home is using in near real-time and help identify high energy use appliances. With an in-home energy display device that wirelessly connects to your SDG&E electric smart meter, you now have the opportunity to access a new tool that will help you make decisions to reduce your overall energy usage and costs.

With a few simple steps, you can find out approximately how much energy that refrigerator in your garage is using, as you watch the kilowatts and estimated cost per hour go up or down on a small digital display in your home when you turn appliances on or off. Gone are the days of needing to “guess-timate” how much energy an outdoor patio light is using during the evening compared to that new energy-efficient TV. With these new in-home displays, that information can be at your fingertips.

SDG&E has tested several new in-home energy display devices and you can learn how to connect these validated devices to your electric smart meters at sdge.com/han. The third-party in-home displays below range in price from approximately $60 to $120, and have been tested and validated for smart meter compatibility:

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  • Energy Aware Technology PowerTab In-Home Display
    • Where to purchase: store.energy-aware.com
    • Features: Shows how much electricity your home is consuming at any given moment on a wireless and rechargeable, easy-to-use, magnetic backed display.
  • Rainforest Automation Energy Display (model EMU)
    • Where to purchase: rainforestautomation.com
    • Features: Real-time energy display with instant access to smart meter energy consumption as it happens; simple two-button interface with tabletop or magnet mount; battery-powered.
  • Rainforest Automation Energy Display (model EMU-2)
    • Where to purchase: rainforestautomation.com
    • Features: Real-time energy display with instant access to smart meter energy consumption as it happens; simple two-button interface with tabletop, magnet, or wall mount; plug-in with battery backup.

Start the process to connect an in-home display device to your smart meter by completing the online form at sdge.com/han, or by contacting HomeAreaNetwork@semprautilities.com or SDG&E’s Energy Savings Center at 800-644-6133.

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