Traditionally, utility companies use an estimate at the end of the billing cycle to guess how much electricity you have used during the prior period of time. At some point in the year, they will send a technician to your location to Smart Metering Companies physically read your meter. Someone in their accounting office will then reconcile the billing amounts against usage since the last meter check. The next billing cycle will account for the difference. Maybe your employees have done a great job of managing their usage over the past quarter and you will see a much smaller invoice for the reconciled bill. The most likely outcome is that you will have a bill with a larger amount. The larger bill will also result in higher bills for the next year regardless of what anyone in your company does because the utility company is likely to use the higher average until they do another physical meter check.
If you had a gas or electrical problem that went unnoticed, such as a problem with your heat or hot water equipment, an increase in usage could go undetected for a long period of time. You could always assign someone to go read your meter periodically, write down the figures, and keep track of it all that way. This process could get complicated and time consuming if you have multiple facility locations.
A better way to monitor your exact usage is to have Smart meters installed. Once you utilise Smart meters, you will have instant access to your utility access on a monthly, daily, or even hourly basis. Simply sign on to the online management tool and you have instant access to a valuable new source of information. By location, you will now know if your business is energy efficient.
If you find that your business is not operating as efficiently as you would like, you can make changes and get quick feedback to know if your utility consumption was impacted positively. Simply sign on to the online management tool and record your daily usage. Make the change, wait a period of time, and check again. Timely feedback will make all the difference in your decision making process.
Another benefit of Smart metering includes the ability to compare energy usage from month to month and from location to location. Track how the weather or increased production affects your utility bills. Evaluate how energy efficient one office is compared to another. The advantages of Smart meters over traditional meters are endless.
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