If you’re always making changes to your home and adding new improvements here and there, you may be adding in features that inadvertently cause more energy being used. For example, you may have added extra lighting to a room that previously had only a lamp or two, or you upgraded to a larger fridge in the kitchen.
However, when changing how much energy you use it’s important to make sure that your electricity panel is also up to date. It’s not safe to have 150 amps’ worth of equipment connected to a 100-amp panel. And, once you update your panel, you should also update your electricity meter.
An electricity meter measures how much energy is used in your home to calculate your bill. While some premises still require a representative from the power company to come and read your meter in person, huge improvements to this system mean that newer meters send data digitally to the power company.
In summary, it’s important to update your electricity meter – here are five reasons to do it now.
#1 – Reduce Energy Bills
Some people have noted that once they update their meter, their bills go up instead of down. This is not the case for the majority however. A digital meter sends a very accurate reading of your energy usage to the power company – and unlike the manual system, the digital meter cannot be misread or overestimated. Most of the time, this means reduced energy bills. And furthermore, given that digital meters measure your home’s power usage precisely, power companies are more likely to offer more flexible pricing options and rebates.
#2 – Lower Greenhouse Emissions
An updated meter can help to reduce your carbon footprint. By more accurately assessing how much energy that homes in certain areas of cities and towns are using, power grids can be updated to more effectively deliver energy to those areas, producing less carbon.
#3 – Increase Efficiency
Your updated meter helps the power company to provide better service. The power company can instantly see when your power has gone out and respond more quickly. Rather than someone coming to your home, a digital meter sends data remotely.
#4 – Simplify the Billing Process
Now that your home is up to date, you don’t have to wait for a representative from the power company to submit meter readings in order to get your electricity bill. The data is sent each month and it can be read immediately, allowing you to easily see a summary of your energy usage.
Digitalisation of the process allows the power company to offer you a greater suite of services online as well, which helps reduce the need for paper statements, stamps, and envelopes, and delays. The data provided can also help you to see where you might be able to cut back to save money.
#5 – Improve Safety
If you’ve renovated your home and updated your electrical panel, an updated meter is necessary to properly read the increased load. Overloading your meter can produce inaccurate readings that will be either severely under or over your actual usage.
While it’s obvious that you don’t want to overpay, underpaying now can catch up with you later in back payments. Another simple safety measure is that if you don’t update old wiring, you risk electrical fires, which can happen when circuits overload.
Just like you must update your electrical panel as you increase the energy usage in your home, you should update your electricity meter as well to ensure that your energy usage can be safely read by the power company to save you money and reduce your carbon footprint.