What if data and AI could help you lower your energy bills - today and in the future?

What if data and AI could help you lower your energy bills - today and in the future?

Data and AI are transforming how the world operates - and the energy industry is no different. In fact, the energy sector gains some of the most from these two innovations - particularly when it comes to lowering energy bills while also helping to protect our environment and quality of life. 

If you want to explore this area further, here's everything you need to know about what data and AI can mean for your future energy costs and how these trends will impact your utility bill over time!

Trends in household consumption

The average American home uses more than one trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, or enough to power 3 million homes. Nearly half of that is used by appliances. The good news is that there are several ways to save on energy costs without compromising comfort or convenience. 

For example, LED bulbs can last up to 50 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs and use 75% less electricity; smart thermostats can automatically adjust the temperature settings in your home based on where people are located, saving you an average of 10% on heating and cooling costs.

The Big Picture

Data and artificial intelligence (AI) fundamentally change how we consume, manage, produce and distribute energy. 

With increased digitization of our grid, insights into our usage patterns, clear price signals for consumers, advancements in clean energy technologies, and emerging business models for managing distributed resources like rooftop solar panels or electric vehicles can produce substantial benefits to consumers—from saving money on electricity bills to potentially providing an alternative income stream. The opportunities are limited only by our ability to take advantage of them.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution that will work for everyone or every home. So, while there is a lot of potential for using technology to manage consumption or generate renewable power at home, everyone must equally have these benefits.

Getting Technical

The first step is to use an online tool that monitors your home's electricity consumption over time. Then, with some math, it can predict how much power you'll need from one day to the next. 

In other words, it predicts how much power will be consumed and when. That way, it can order energy on a day-ahead basis for delivery at just the right time – for example, before 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening so that all deliveries arrive by Thursday morning. The company can then take care of billing and follow-up customer service needs.

This process has advantages for consumers who want to save money on their electric bills and utilities and have more accurate predictions about demand from individual homes.

The Connection Between Data, AI & Home Automation

Data-driven home automation is an emerging trend that can offer many benefits. Take a look at what makes data and AI so robust for smart homes: 

  1. Data-driven home automation provides more control over how homeowners spend money on their utilities. 
  2. It also helps homeowners save time by automating tasks such as turning on the air conditioner before they get home or preheating the oven for dinner. 
  3. With this technology, homeowners can collect much more data about their homes, which can be used to identify issues like leaks or improper insulation before they become problems that cost additional money to fix. 
  4. It's possible to set timers for when certain appliances should turn off or adjust when the lights should turn on automatically without changing each device separately. 
  5. With this technology, homeowners can access live monitoring and remote access to check any system information anywhere—whether inside or out of town. 
  6. Data-driven home automation gives homeowners peace of mind, knowing that everything will happen just as it was programmed to happen—from regulating temperature levels inside a refrigerator to alerting people when someone's knocking at the door.

How Homes Are Becoming Smarter Through Technology

As homes get smarter, automating many tasks requiring manual supervision will be possible. For example, a smart thermostat can learn about occupants' habits and preferences, including preferred temperature settings. 

The smart device can also detect when a person is at home or not using motion sensors or other similar devices. This information allows homeowners to set their temperature on their way home from work so they don't have to wait for their house to cool down. 

It can also turn off heating or cooling systems when no one is home, saving money on utility costs and wear and tear on equipment!

The Future Is Now

Data and artificial intelligence are two technologies that will play a massive role in our lives over the next decade. With data, we can analyze patterns to predict things like energy usage. 

It can also help us understand how we use our resources more efficiently. Artificial intelligence is already being used to predict outages before they happen, which makes them easier to avoid.


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