First thing’s first what is Spike?

Spike is our energy-saving rewards program. With Spike, you’ll be rewarded for meeting energy-saving goals during peak demand periods (we call these SpikeHours). Customers who sign up to Spike will be alerted via email or SMS whenever there’s an upcoming SpikeHour, giving them the option to participate. During a SpikeHour members are challenged to reduce their energy usage by making simple tweaks to how they use energy – like turning off lights, delaying a load of washing or adjusting the temperature on their heater/air conditioner. 

Every watt of power you save during a Spike event turns into currency you can then redeem for PayPal cash or gift cards from a range of retailers (including Kmart, Myer, Woolworths and Bunnings).  

How do I join a SpikeHour?

Previously, your participation in scheduled SpikeHours happened automatically when you signed up to Spike, but now you’ll need to opt-in. Simply click or tap the link in the email or SMS you receive about an upcoming SpikeHour and you’re in! We’ve made this change so SpikeHours work around your life and its important moments. And, if you choose not to participate, no worries – we’ll freeze your streak until the next SpikeHour.

What are smart devices?

Put simply, smart devices are clever appliances that have the ability to communicate with other wireless devices around your home. They offer the ability to control a range of different appliances – like home theatre systems, lighting and power points – remotely, often via your smart phone with an app. You can even set up schedules or queues to get the most out of them – think turning the AC down to a specific setting when it’s a certain time (or even temperature outside). 

What do smart devices have to do with Spike?

A lot! On top of adopting energy-saving habits and switching off energy vampires, integrating smart devices in your home to automate and monitor energy usage, can help you consume less energy overall – and increase your chances of earning Watts during SpikeHours. 

Spike members can automate energy savings by connecting their own smart devices, like TP-Link smart plugs and Sensibo Sky thermostats, via My Account. And once connected, we can request permission via SMS to remotely manage registered smart devices during a SpikeHour, meaning you can sit back, relax and enjoy your SpikeHour – instead of running around the house switching everything off. 

Smart devices we love for saving energy

Smart plugs and power strips

Smart plugs and power strips let you control individual appliances remotely. By turning off non-essential devices during SpikeHours, you can significantly reduce standby power consumption. Smart plugs can be scheduled or controlled through their apps, making energy management simple. 

Smart appliances

If you have a washing machines or dishwasher with smart features, you might also be able to time when they run. This means you can easily schedule that load to run outside of a Spike event. By delaying energy-intensive tasks until after SpikeHours, you can reduce your energy consumption when the grid is under the most strain – and get rewarded for it.

Energy monitoring devices

Energy monitors can be a valuable tool to help understand the way you use energy as a household. These devices are great for providing real-time insights, helping you identify which appliances are the most energy hungry. Helping you make informed decisions on which appliances to turn off during SpikeHours. As a bonus, they can also help you develop more energy-savvy habits over the long term. 

Five sure-fire ways to get the most out of your smart devices

1. Plan ahead: use smart devices to schedule energy-intensive tasks outside of SpikeHours. 
2. Stay informed: Keep an eye on notifications about upcoming SpikeHours. 
3. Automate your home: Set routines that automatically adjust your energy usage during SpikeHours. 
4. Monitor and adjust: use energy monitoring devices to track your consumption and identify areas for improvement 
5. Engage the household: encourage everyone in your home to participate in energy-saving efforts.  

Ready to get rewarded for saving energy?  

The post How to make your SpikeHours smarter appeared first on The Origin Blog.

One of the easiest ways to save money on household bills is to look closely at how much energy you’re using. While energy ratings on household appliances are useful when making buying decisions, knowing how much energy a device uses at any specific time can be tricky.

That’s where understanding a few basic facts about your energy bills – as well as using energy-monitoring technology – can make a big difference.

Start with your energy bill

When you look at your power bill, it’s important to understand there are two major components to the charges you see.

The main charge, firstly, is your energy consumption. This is the portion of the bill over which you have the most control. While your bill provides a summary of the charges, you can get a lot more information from smart meters, which are found in many homes. These collect your consumption data regularly, usually every 30 minutes, and securely send it to your energy provider, so you can get a detailed look at when you have used your energy.

Secondly, network charges cover the cost of the infrastructure that delivers electricity to your home, office or business. While your energy retailer collects these charges, they are passed back to the various companies that provide the services.

Understand your usage habits

As smart meters let you see energy use per half hour, you can look back at the data and see what parts of the day are your most energy-intense. For example, the Origin Energy App lets you clearly and easily see when you used your electricity.

Having easy access to this data allows you to think over how your behaviour is impacting your energy use – and, therefore, how much you’re paying.

Use smart plugs to monitor energy usage

Although the Energy Star rating system is familiar to many of us, it only gives us a relative rating for comparing devices. Origin Energy’s Good Energy Report III found that the majority of people are looking for ways to better monitor their energy use so they can make better decisions about their power consumption.

So, if you really want to know how much energy is used by a specific electrical item, you can use a smart plug. While most smart plugs are used simply as automated timers, many can also measure the flow of electricity to particular appliances, so you can better understand how energy is being consumed around your home.

The TP-Link HS110 Smart Plug is one such device, displaying how much energy an appliance is using and how that consumption has been tracking over time, giving you the opportunity to make informed choices about your energy use. For example, you can then program it to switch devices off overnight, saving you money and reducing your carbon footprint.

Take advantage of solar panel info

Although the report found that installation of solar panels is closely tied to home ownership, solar panel inverters are a great source of live energy-use information. The majority of inverters can connect to your home wireless network and provide live data you can view on your smartphone. When you turn on the dishwasher, gaming console or air-con, you can instantly see how much energy it uses.

Energy-monitoring technology is now accessible to almost everyone. Whether by looking at data collected by a smart meter and delivered through your energy retailer, or by installing some inexpensive energy-monitoring smart plugs, it’s possible to get a detailed understanding of the energy consumption around your home. You can then choose whether to update appliances or simply change the way you use your appliances.

That will help you save money in the long run – and of course reduce your impact on the environment as well.

Want to learn more?

Find out how demand management programs, like Origin Spike, are gamifying energy-saving habits and rewarding households on episode three of our podcast, So Watt?

The post How smart devices can help reduce your energy use appeared first on The Origin Blog.