6 ways to use MyHydro to help your business be more efficient
Get powerful insights into your business' power use
You probably already use MyHydro to manage your personal electricity usage at home. But did you know that MyHydro is also an invaluable free tool for managing your business usage?
Signing up for MyHydro for your business account unlocks all kinds of useful information that can help you reduce costs and decide which of our programs and resources could be most beneficial.
Here are six key ways that MyHydro could help your business become more energy efficient:
1. Benchmark power consumption against production
Easily export your power consumption history from MyHydro to an Excel doc in time increments from five minutes to hourly, daily, weekly or monthly. You can then benchmark your consumption against your production to set targets and identify areas with room for improvement.
2. Pinpoint specific machinery usage
Ever wondered how much power a specific piece of machinery uses? Just choose a quiet period one evening or on the weekend with a low baseload power consumption and run the machine for 15 to 60 minutes at a set time. MyHydro automatically records consumption in five-minute intervals, so you'll be able to easily calculate how much that specific machine uses.
3. Check for wasted power after-hours
How much energy is being wasted after hours? Is equipment being left running? MyHydro makes it quick and easy to compare overnight periods against weekends and public holidays so you can identify any redundant usage. Reducing your off-peak power consumption can add up to substantial savings across the whole year.
4. Test any energy-saving initiatives
MyHydro doesn't just help you check for wasted power. You can also use the same principles to test energy-saving initiatives, too. This could be as simple as manually turning specific equipment/lights off to see the impact of automatic timers. Just pick a quiet period one evening or on the weekend and run the equipment for 15 to 60 minutes like normal. Then test your energy-saving initiative for at least the same amount of time to get a good average for comparing the difference.
5. Understand your peak demand
A big chunk of many customers' bills is related to peak demand charges. This is your maximum power draw over any 15-minute period for each monthly billing cycle. In MyHydro, you can pinpoint this demand to the nearest 5 minutes so that you can work out why or how it occurred and then see how to either reduce it or spread that usage out more evenly to reduce costs.
6. Set up MyHydro alerts
There are many reasons why your bill might be higher than expected, but they usually fall into a couple of common themes:
- Equipment issues such as compressed air leaks and inefficient usage or operation
- Surcharges related to your peak demand charges (see number 5 above) and your power factor
Setting up MyHydro's SMS and email alerts and checking back regularly will give you a better understanding of how seasonal changes and everyday habits affect your power consumption.
Ready to sign up?
Learn more about how MyHydro can help you save energy by calling the Business Help Desk at 1 866 522 4713 – or get started right away and sign up for MyHydro today.
Get the latest COVID-19 advice for your business
Make sure your team and your business are benefitting from the latest BC Government advice on COVID-19, including their Support for Businesses information.
And of course, we're here to help. Reach out to your Key Account Manager or Regional Energy Manager if you have any questions or concerns.