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Your lifestyle determines the energy use reflected on your bill, but most homeowners have a hard time comprehending the cost when it comes to high bills. That’s where Sense swoops in. Sense is, in a way, your home’s grocery receipt. Instead of seeing the cost of the turkey you bought for Thanksgiving, Sense provides a breakdown of how much energy it costs you to bake the turkey.

Online reviews mentioned after installation, it takes manual detective work to help Sense learn individual appliances. It’s like an energy-saving scavenger hunt. Sense identifies larger energy loads on its own such as your water heater, air conditioner, furnace, and dryer. Other smaller energy loads, like your kitchen lighting, TV, or coffee pot, take time.

Like all smart gadgets, Sense comes with an app. Take some time to learn the app and which features will benefit you the most. We highlighted two of the many features in the app.

Energy costs
Sense provides real-time data on how much energy your home appliances are using. The app brings a new perspective to your energy use. You can add Cass County Electric’s electricity cost, and it calculates how much energy appliances are using each day. For example, Sense will show you your refrigerator used $1.32 in energy, and the water heater used $2.54.

Reduce energy & set goals
“Always On” is a popular feature that identifies vampire loads, inefficient or malfunctioning appliances, and surplus devices like the spare fridge you might not need. Zach Swanson, a Cass County Electric member service technician, experienced savings by monitoring the “Always On” feature.
Swanson noticed his normal “Always On” load was producing roughly 285 kWh, and a few months later, it showed 1,500 kWh. Through the app, he was able to detect his horse and cattle stock heater was running all the time, which made his “Always On” skyrocket.

“If you’re diligent and take the time, it can save you money in the long run,” said Swanson.

Sense will provide a handy summary showing how much each one device contributes to your monthly energy use, the cost of the electricity it consumes, and a graph of how many times per day it comes on.

You can also set custom alerts for when something is on or off for a certain amount of time. For example, you can create an alert to sound if the refrigerator is off for more than an hour. For more information about the Sense Home Energy Monitor, visit Sense.com.