Has anyone ever suggested you hang your laundry outside to dry, or take shorter showers to use less hot water? With BC Hydro’s online tracking tools, you can better understand the effects of small changes to your electricity use.

By logging into your online account, you can quickly see a snapshot of your last seven days of power consumption. A click on the “view detailed consumption” button reveals a bounty of information, such as your hourly, daily, weekly and monthly electricity use, or how your use compares to last year.

The temperature overlay feature lets you see how the outside temperature affects your energy use. By seeing how the temperature relates to your consumption, you can modify your habits and save accordingly.

For example, if you draft-proof your home this summer to reduce overall heating costs and prepare for next winter. Other solutions could include hanging your laundry to dry, only running the washing machine when full or closing the blinds to block the sun and keep your home cool.

You can even use the tools to monitor your home’s electricity use while on vacation. Your home should be at its baseline energy use when you’re away (the same usage levels you would see at night when you’re sleeping), so if you see spikes, ask a family member or neighbour to check on your home. You might have left something on that shouldn’t be.

Things get really interesting when you view similar nearby homes. In a simple bar graph, you can see how your electricity use compares to similar homes in the area. If you’re using more electricity than the average, it’s time to start looking for ways to trim power usage.

Learning about your personal consumption patterns can help you find ways to reduce your energy usage. For more tips about how to save electricity, check out BC Hydro’s website.

Knowledge is power, and BC Hydro’s online tracking tools give you the information you need to understand and improve your energy use patterns.