Apps that Can Help you Manage Your Utility Bills

If you want to pay your utility bills on time and maybe reduce your energy use as well, you will need to find a way to manage your energy use and your bills. If, like most people, you simply toss the bills on a coffee table or quickly skim them when they come into your email inbox, you may end up overpaying for your energy use. Luckily, there are several apps that can give you more control over your bills and can even help you reduce your carbon footprint:

1) MeterRead by Zerogate. This tool has dials that you set so they match your electricity meter at home. The app then tracks how much energy you have used since your last meter reading, so that you can predict how much your next bill will be. Since the app is very visual, you don’t have to know how to read a meter to use the app.

2) Kill-O-Watts by Arca de la Alianza, Inc. This tool requests that you type in power consumption data for each device you have at home. You can also choose the devices you have from a list. Once you have done that, you will need to estimate how much you use each device each day. Finally, you will need to find out and type in the rates you are charged. Based on that, the app will track how much your monthly electricity bill will be – and how much each device is costing you.

3) Meter Readings by Graham Haley. This app also requires you to type in data manually. Once you do that, though, the handy tool can keep track of your water, electricity, and gas meters. The iPad and iPhone app can help you check the accuracy of your bills and can help you predict your next utility bills. You can even use Meter Readings to compare utility costs from month to month and year to year.

4) UFO Power Center by Visible Energy, Inc. This app comes with power strips that can be used to completely turn off appliances that keep consuming energy even when they are turned off. The app that comes with the strips can help customers switch on the strips remotely or can allow them to set up and change schedules for turning the power strips on and off. California customers can use UFO Power Center to read information from their smart meters.

5) Tendril Connect by Tendril Inc. Tendril Connect is a platform that lets customers keep tabs on their energy use. The platform comes with an app that can used to control devices remotely. The app also lets customers set energy use goals and keep tabs of how well they are meeting those goals. Tendril Connect also gives customers advice on managing their energy use. So far, Tendril Connect and its app are only available through utility companies.

6) BillsHD by PoweryBase. Designed for all your bills – including utility bills, debts, student loans, and other bills – this app lets you track upcoming bills, set automatic alerts and create reminders about bills due. The app also allows you to set up and manage automatic payments for all of your bills.

Reducing energy use starts with being aware of how much you are using, and many of these apps promise to help with that. A few have useful features – such as goal-setting or bill tracking and predicting – that can make utility bills less of a headache each month.

 

Sam Jones writes about and researches the energy market. He is often approached by people worried about increases in their bills and directs them to uSwitch.com to compare energy prices