Notes from the field: Before Broad River Electric launched our new rate, several co-op employees who are also members of the cooperative volunteered to field test it in a pilot program. Here’s one example of what they found.
by Josh Crotzer
When Broad River Electric's staking services manager David Upchurch began participating in the new rate pilot program, he immediately went to the data. He looked at how his Blacksburg home historically used power, what time of day he and the family were using the most electricity, and what the climate was like at each hour.
“I could tell when everyone got home, turned on the stove and washing machine and dryer,” says Upchurch. “The bars on the graphs just spiked around 5 p.m.”
Upchurch originally used the co-op’s meter data management system to review his home energy use, but members of Broad River Electric have a similar tool they can use on their personal devices. SmartHub—the online member portal—is a great way to get information about how much energy you are using and when you are using it.
“It’s the same data and graphs,” Upchurch says of SmartHub. “When I’m not at my desk, I use the SmartHub app on my phone so that I can keep track of how we’re doing.”
You can log on to SmartHub on our website. It’s also available as an app on your Apple or Android device. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be able to see how much power you’ve used in the current billing period, as recently as the previous day. You’ll also be able to see your current peak demand level. Data is available on an hourly basis, allowing you to determine when you are using energy the most. Local temperature readings can be applied to the graph, showing you how summer’s heat affects your energy use.
Upchurch says his family simply shifted when they use large appliances, delaying laundry and cooking until after 6 p.m. They also put a timer on their pool pump so it doesn’t run during peak hours, he says. “Between the appliances and the pool pump, I saved about $30 last month when the summer peak season started.”