Introducing “Energy Aware” from SMUD: Borrow a High-Tech Energy Display from Sacramento Municipal Utility District
SMUD is loaning customers a useful energy monitor that uses that new smart meter
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) customers can use their Sacramento Public Library card to check out an “EnergyAware” electricity use display. The device “talks” wirelessly to a customer’s smart meter. It will let them know, in real time, how much power the home and its appliances are using, and which are costing the most money to operate.
Customers can track how their electricity use changes as they turn appliances on and off. The device displays electricity use in dollars and cents at the moment and cumulatively, helping customers estimate what the electricity portion of their bill might be. Customers can borrow the EnergyAware device like they would a book from the Sacramento Public Library’s 28 branches and use it for up to two months.
Information provided with the device directs customers to SMUD’s website, smud.org, where they can learn more about energy efficiency, and programs and rebates designed to help them save money.
Track Electricity Usage & Save Money Year-Round
EnergyAware is one of the first technologies available that allows customers to utilize the SMUD smart grid, which is interconnected by 620,000 smart meters installed on customers’ homes and businesses.
SMUD also offers EnergyAware to customers who request one when they register as SMUD “My Account” users on smud.org. My Account allows customers to maintain their accounts online and pay their bills as well as see their energy use.
EnergyAware is simple to use.
Just plug in the device and it will immediately begin calculating electricity use in kilowatt-hours and in dollars and cents. There are no wires and nothing else to install in the home or on the meter.
SMUD completed a two-and-a-half year smart meter deployment program last year. Smart meters are the backbone of the smart grid and they provide customers with two-way communication, allowing them to make many of their own energy choices. Knowledge is power, and knowing how much power is being used allows customers to tailor energy use to their own needs, saving money and minimizing their impact on the local environment.
As SMUD’s smart grid continues to be built, more products like the EnergyAware electricity use display will be available so customers can use less energy while maintaining their comfort and lifestyles.
For more information about the Energy Aware loaner program or any of SMUD’s energy-saving programs and services,visit smud.org or call 1-888-742-SMUD (7683).
