There are a number of ways to make sure that you are saving as much energy and CO2 as possible when taking part in equivents - the more energy you save, the more points you earn!
1. Connect your smart meter
By connecting a compatible smart meter to equiwatt, you can unlock rewards for switching off appliances in your home during an equivent and beating your forecast.
This means that you can earn points by switching off any appliances that you can manually switch off at the socket or switch on the wall.
If you want to make life even easier, why not combine your smart meter with some smart plugs or one of our other smart integrations to switch off appliances automatically?
PLEASE NOTE: All equivent points will be awarded via your smart meter. You will need a compatible smart meter with half-hourly data in order to earn points.
The more energy and CO2 that you shift during an equivent, the more points that you will be awarded.
2. Switch off high-consuming appliances
The more energy an appliance uses, the higher its carbon footprint will be as more electricity needs to be generated to power it.
Since points are awarded based on how much CO2 and energy you have shifted during an equivent, one of the best ways to earn more points for taking part in equivents is to make sure that switch off high energy-consuming appliances during events.
TIP: If you have any smart plugs connected to the app, make sure they are connected to the highest-consuming appliance you have.
Take a look at the table below for some ideas on what you could connect!
For example, switching off a lamp or mobile phone charger will not save much energy during an equivent, as they don’t use much energy in the first place. However, switching off a fridge/freezer, electric drying rack, electric heater, washing machine or tumble dryer will save more energy and CO2 and therefore earn you more points!
The table below shows the average energy consumption of a range of typical household appliances to give you a sense of which high-consuming appliances you could switch off.
| Appliance | Average Power Rating (Watts) | Average points per equivent (approx)* | Average points value in a month* |
| Tumble Dryer | 2000-3000 W | 75 | 600 |
| Washing Machine | 1200-3000 W | 74 | 592 |
| Electric Heater | 500-3000 W | 60 | 480 |
| Dishwasher | 1050–1500 W | 74 | 592 |
| Water Feature | 60-950 W | 28-40 | 224-320 |
| Dehumidifier | 300-700 W | 40-60 | 320-480 |
| Heated Drying Rack | 300 W | 50 | 400 |
| Fridge / Freezer | 200-400 W | 12-50 | 96-400 |
| Television | 125-200 W | 30 | 340 |
| Games Console | 45-190 W | 16-30 | 128-240 |
| Laptop | 20-65 W | 16 | 128 |
| Lamp | 5-60W | 12 | 96 |
| Phone Charger | 2.5-5.0 W | 2 | 16 |
PLEASE NOTE: This table lists common appliances and a typical power rating or a range (the actual power rating can vary depending on size and model). Average power data taken from the Centre for Sustainable Energy & Generatorist.
*The points total per equivent / during a typical month are just a guide based on averages taken from our community. The points totals are based on each appliance participating in every equivent in a month for the full duration.
3. Make the most of smart plugs
Although connecting smart plugs to a high energy-consuming appliance is an easy way to take part in equivents without having to lift a finger, it is also important to consider how you connect your plug to make the most of it.
For example, cyclical appliances like washing machines, dishwashers or tumble dryers consume a lot of energy but they are only on for a couple of hours at a time.
As equivents happen for up to 1-hour periods, 8 times a month, you need to consider whether these appliances are likely to be on when an equivent occurs.
If you regularly wash clothes or use your tumble dryer, it would be a good idea to connect these appliances to a smart plug as they would save a lot of energy and CO2 by participating in equivents and earn you a lot of points in the process.
PLEASE NOTE: You will need a smart meter with half-hourly data connected to your equiwatt account to earn points from taking part in an equivent.
On the other hand, if you rarely use your washing machine, you might find that you will save more energy by connecting an appliance that is in use more frequently. An excellent example of this would be a fridge or freezer as they consume power pretty much 24/7 and are therefore much more likely to earn you points.
4. Connect more smart plugs
One of the easiest ways to save more energy with equiwatt is to connect more devices to the app. The best way to do this is by connecting additional appliances to Smart Plugs. It probably seems pretty obvious but the more plugs that you connect, the more energy and CO2 you will save without having to do anything. You will also have the added benefit of earning more points from each equivent too!
Although Smart Plugs might seem like an investment, when you consider that they can be used to remotely switch off your connected appliances, be set to timers and help you save more energy and reduce your carbon footprint by participating in equivents, it is easy to see how they are worth the investment.
TIP: Connect an extension lead to a smart plug in the wall then plug 2 appliances into the extension lead.
For example, if you have a fridge and freezer standing next to each other, plug them into the same extension and one single smart plug will mean both appliances take part in an equivent automatically.
5. Make the most of seasonal appliances
Although you may have access to a high-consuming appliance in your home throughout the year, we know that many in the equiwatt community do not.
Instead rather than simply plugging in an appliance and forgetting about it, one of the best ways to make sure that you are maximising your points earnings throughout the year is to make the most of seasonal appliances!
For example, do you regularly use a fan or portable A/C unit in the summer? Perhaps you have a water feature or inflatable jacuzzi that you only use seasonally? Or maybe you like to keep your house nice and toasty warm with an electric heater during the winter months?
If the answer to these questions is yes then you may find that switching these appliances off during events or connecting them to a smart plug to take part in events automatically is an easy way to maximise your points earnings whilst saving a bit of energy too!