Finding smarter ways to use energy in a busy family home

With three school-aged children and no shortage of technology in the home, Laura Claffey and her family, from Lucan in Co Dublin, typically use a lot of electricity.

"We're high energy users in this house,” admits Laura. “It's a busy household with lots of devices. 

“My kids are eight, six and four. We try to make them aware that everything has a cost or is a resource that we're using.

The Claffey's didn’t realise quite how heavy their power usage was before they made the switch to a smart meter plan. A combination of their new time-of-use tariff and Energia’s Energy Insights app has given the family a better overview of how they use electricity — and the simple steps they can take to cut their bills.

This includes easy energy-saving measures, such as only using household appliances when electricity rates are cheapest. 

“The tariff that we're on, there's the daytime rate, night-time rate and there's just a peak rate," explains Laura. "And it has changed the way we use our energy.”

“Now, I suppose, I'm more mindful to try to load my dishwasher and washing machine before I go to bed and setting it to run after the peak hours.

With the lower rates kicking in after 7pm and the night-time rates starting 11pm, simple changes to their usage now costs the household much less each month than it did previously.

With the lower rates kicking in after 7pm and the night-time rates starting at 11pm, simple changes to their usage now costs the household much less each month than it did previously.

No more surprise bills

There are no longer nasty surprises when a bill arrives because Energy Insights gives the family at-a-glance information on how much electricity they’re using.

“I think with the app, there's a transparency there,” says Laura. “It lets you know if you're tracking ahead of your previous month's usage, and then it gives you a chance to rectify rather than waiting for the bill, getting a shock and thinking we need to row back.”

She adds: “It's quite transparent because it's consciously making us make decisions about when we use our energy.”

Putting electricity use in the spotlight

With energy usage insights at their fingertips, the Claffey's discovered that they were using more energy than they had realised. Even some harmless-looking devices and household tech were guzzling more electricity than expected.

“We were a little bit surprised by how high our usage is. We knew that we have lots of things, but I suppose they're on standby. You don't think about them because they're blank screens, but they're still using power.”

With the benefit of Energy Insights, the family adjust their energy use to save on their bill. Even something as simple as turning devices fully off instead of leaving them in standby mode has made a significant difference.

Laura says: “It's putting a bit of a spotlight on it. Is there a better way that we can do things? And even if the primary motivation for that is a cost benefit, it will hopefully also have an environmental impact."

She is certain that other families across Ireland who are trying to keep household bills under control would see a financial benefit from switching to a smart plan.

“The cost-of-living crisis has made everyone a little bit more conscious of their spending,” she explains. “So it gives you access to that information rather than having to wait for a billing period.”