We all have different reasons to closely measure the amount of energy our accessories consume at home; saving money, conservation, or just plain curiosity among them.

With the energy monitoring feature available via the iDevices Wall Outlet and Outdoor Switch, you can satisfy any and every reason with access to real-time and historical energy consumption data.

With dining rooms and dens transforming into home offices and classrooms, you're probably using more power than ever. Now's the time to empower your home, and for more than convenience; make more informed, energy conscious decisions on a daily basis. 

At your fingertips

Energy reports are accessible from anywhere, at anytime, through the "Energy" tab in the iDevices Connected app, available on both iOS and Android devices. You can monitor the real-time power draw of anything plugged into your Wall Outlet or Outdoor Switch, as well as the hours in use and estimated cost. These figures are broken out by day, week, month, year, and all-time. 

Understanding how much energy a light or appliance draws short-term is useful, but the longer-term summary serves to show you the true impact. While an appliance might cost you very little per day in terms of energy consumption, that adds up over the course of a year. You're busy, and determining how much energy your laptop charger draws might not be top of mind on any given day, but with constant monitoring in place, you don't have to keep tabs — the Connected app will do that for you. 

Localized data

By enabling location services with the iDevices Connected app, you can get the most accurate energy reporting data. The app will show your energy report using the average energy rate for your state or province. If location services aren’t enabled, the national average is shown. If you're not sure how to enable location services for the Connected app, you can get step-by-step directions here. 

An eye for efficiency

From household appliances to holiday decorations, there are a number of accessories you can monitor with Wall Outlet and Outdoor Switch. 

Really, you can keep an eye on just about anything you'd normally plug in, as long as it doesn't exceed either product's maximum load (Wall Outlet:1,800W | Outdoor Switch:1,200W). 

If you're really serious about finding savings, you should try plugging in power-sucking accessories like TVs, game consoles, phone/laptop chargers, desktop computers, and portable heating/AC units. You can even monitor multiple accessories, like a TV, modem, router, and streaming device, together through a power strip plugged into Wall Outlet. While you won’t be able to break out power draw by product in this scenario, you'll be able to see the collective impact a number of accessories you use together, probably daily, make on your electric bill. 

Note: Both of Wall Outlet's receptacles are independent, meaning you can control and monitor two separate accessories at the same time. Outdoor Switch has two receptacles like Wall Outlet, but they work together (great for holiday lights). So while you can plug two different accessories into Outdoor Switch, the energy report will reflect as if it's one product and won't split the data by accessory. 

Reduce wasteful "phantom" energy

Wall Outlet and Outdoor Switch won’t just help you monitor energy consumption – they’ll actually prevent unnecessary power draw and reduce how much electricity you’re using.

Plug-in accessories draw power even when they’re not "on," or even after they’re fully charged (think cell phones plugged in all night, or laptops — once they reach 100% charge, they don't stop pulling energy). This is referred to as "phantom energy."

Accessories plugged into Wall Outlet and Outdoor Switch stop drawing energy when in "off" mode, preventing wasteful energy consumption. 

This 2015 study found phantom energy draw (also called idle, vampire, and standby energy) adds up to about 1,300 kilowatt-hours per year. USA Today estimates just by utilizing smart outlets, a homeowner can save between $165-$440 a year.

So not only can you monitor energy consumption with Wall Outlet and Outdoor Switch, you can shut down unnecessary energy use see the impact of your efforts reflected in the Connected app, and your monthly electric bill. 

If you have any questions about energy reporting, our app, or an iDevices smart home in general, don’t hesitate to reach out to our U.S.-based customer experience team: support@idevicesinc.com.