Resident: Energy Consumption & Cost Management

Do this when you have the following concerns:

1) Your meter is working, but you feel the energy used is less than what is recorded as consumed on the FlexView App.

2) Your energy consumption seems to read faster than usual or you are suddenly paying much more for energy consumed.

CASE 1 - Validate The Meter Integrity

Goal - The energy consumption and measurement validation will assist in ensuring that the energy meter measures the energy consumed correctly and accurately. You are required to check the following parameters on the meter when loads are connected and when there are no loads and record the values seen.

Tools Needed: SHYFT's Flexview Mobile App

Step 1 - Check to confirm that there are no newly installed appliances in your home.

If a new appliance or equipment is newly installed at your residence, it is expected that there will be a linear increase in your energy consumption based on the usage of the appliance/equipment.

Step 2 - Confirm that your power cable has not been extended to support another apartment or unit directly or indirectly.

If you extend your power cables to supply an additional unit, it is expected that there will be a linear increase in your energy consumption based on the additional loads.

Step 3 - Cut off the Power supply for a while.

While stepping out to work or anywhere in which you will be away from your house for more than an hour, Kindly turn off the main breaker of your consumer unit(DB) and turn it back On when you are back home

Ensure that all necessary safety precautions are observed.

Step 4 - Use the Flexview Mobile App

On the mobile app, the energy reading is expected to be zero for the period you were away from your house.

(When you log in to the FlexView app, click on the Usage button; this will open a page similar to the above Fig. 2. Showing your energy usage per hour, you can scroll the time area to see the previous time.) (This picture will be corrected to show 0kWh on certain hours)

No electricity can pass through the consumer unit; therefore, the meter should not record any energy consumption. If any reading is observed, please contact your facility manager immediately. 

Your electrician should also immediately check the following. 

• Check for an illegal cable connection between the meter and the resident′s consumer unit (DB).

• Check for earth current leakage.

Please note also, that faulty or unserviced appliances consume more energy when they are faulty. Refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, and air conditioners are some examples.

If you are using any of these appliances normally but your electricity bill has increased, the appliance may have a fault that is causing it to consume more energy than usual. Do have your community technician confirm that this is not the case here, please.

CASE 2 - Work with your Facility Manager to review the following:

• Factors that increase your energy cost

  • Your consumption (changes in energy usage)

  • Tariff (Your Power Manager might have increased its prices because the cost of diesel or the cost of operation has gone up).

STEP 1 - Review your Energy Consumption Pattern.

Review the daily kilowatt-hour (kWh) history on your mobile app for the last 6–8 months.

This should show your energy behavior and your daily usage. Please note the average daily total consumption and average hourly consumption.

This history is provided to you on the mobile app. You can compare your most recent month to that same month one year ago.

Note: Energy bills commonly escalate during the dry season (Sep.–Nov. and Jan.–Apr.).

STEP 2 -  Take daily energy readings for at least 5days

With the help of your Power Manager, check and record the,

1. present meter energy reading(s) and,

2. note the time the reading(s) was taken.

Do this at least twice daily (probably in the morning say at 8 am and evening say 6 pm) for a week.

Because the energy readings from the meter represent accumulated energy consumption, to get the energy consumed during the period that is between 8 am - 6 pm, you need to take the difference between the measured readings per day (i.e. evening reading minus morning reading).

Please do this at least 5times, documenting your daily (8 am-6 pm) total.

STEP 3 - Compare Values with Historical Data

a) Compare the values (energy consumption for 10 hours) gotten for 5days with the recorded average from historical data.

Please, use data from around the same months and dates in the previous year because varying weather conditions at different times of the year affect the rate of power consumed, generally.

b) Check the Flexview App to confirm that the recorded energy consumption within this test window (8 a.m. - 6 pm) tallies with values gotten from step 2 above.

STEP 4 - Inferences 

1) If 'a' in step 3 above checks (that is, the data is similar to within the same range), then you know that your usage pattern has not changed. You are paying more now, most likely because the cost/tariff per kWh has changed/increased.

2) If "b' above checks, it means that your meter is reading accurately, and the energy consumption data provided in the Flexview app is 100% correct.

3)To confirm that you are being billed correctly, multiply daily total consumption by the applied tariff (confirm the amount from your facility manager, please).

The derived cost of energy used (in Naira) would be the energy used in KWH as measured by the meter multiplied by your current tariff.

Cost(N) = energy(KWH) * tariff.

Document and share your findings by raising a ticket with Shyft Support.