FAQs for HydroHome

Yes, if you have multiple accounts linked to your MyHydro profile and you sign up with HydroHome, they’ll all be displayed in your HydroHome app.

Note that accounts will only appear in HydroHome app if:

• You have Administrator access to them.
• They meet the eligibility criteria for HydroHome.

A close distance (within 30 feet) with few barriers between your hub and your electricity meter is essential to a successful data connection. That means hubs aren’t suitable to certain property types, like apartment buildings or businesses.

If you live in a townhouse complex, a hub might be able to communicate with your electricity meter, depending on its location. The hub can be used with the HydroHome app to control smart devices, however, the real-time energy data may not be available. If your hub connection doesn’t work out, you can return it for a full refund within 30 days. 

Due to limitations with the wireless technology used by these home energy monitoring devices, hubs are not yet available to you if you live in a multi-dwelling unit, such as an apartment, or at your business. Multi-dwelling units have meter rooms far from apartments and need a stronger meter network connection.  

A close distance (within 30 feet) with few barriers between your hub and your electricity meter is essential to a successful data connection. The more barriers between the monitor and the meter will decrease its ability to have a strong connection.  

As the technology matures, vendors may be able to provide solutions to ensure all customers can make use of energy monitors. 

If you’re renting your home and pay BC Hydro directly for electricity via your own account, you’re eligible to participate if you meet the other eligibility criteria. Make sure your MyHydro account has Administrator access.  

If you have Viewer access only to your online BC Hydro account, you’ll need to get Administrator access first to be able to log in to HydroHome.  

Learn about account access

Administrators can manage access here

Once you've registered and set up your HydroHome app, within one hour you'll start seeing a month of data in the app. Within 24 to 48 hours, you'll see up to a year's worth of hourly data in the app.

If you can log into the HydroHome app, but don't see any or all of your BC Hydro accounts, it's most likely because the account isn't eligible to display in the app. 

Common reasons are:

• Your MyHydro profile doesn't have Administrator access to the account. Learn about account access.
• The account isn’t on an eligible rate. Eligible rates include:
  • Residential Tiered Rate (Rate Schedule 1101)
    • BCRSE1101: Single Family Dwelling Zone 1
    • BCRSE1101N: Single Family Dwelling Zone 1-Net Meter
    • BCRSE1101F: Special Single Family Dwelling Z1
  • Residential Exempt Rate (Rate Schedule 1151)
    • BCRSE1151F: Single Family Dwelling Zone 1-Exempt Farms
    • BCRSE1151: Single Family Dwelling Zone 1 - Exempt
  • Residential Rate – Zone II (Rate Schedule 1107)
    • BCRSE1107: Single Family Dwelling Zone II
    • BCRSE1107N: Single Family Dwelling Zone II-Net Meter
• The account has a smart meter that’s not remotely read.

You can check which rate you’re on by looking at your BC Hydro bill, in the Electricity charges section.

When you receive your hub device, all you need to do is connect it to a power source and follow the in-app instructions to get it connected to your internet and your smart meter.

You can also refer to the QuickStart guide that's emailed to you when you placed your order.

No. We can remotely configure the meter at your home to communicate with a hub. We don't need to come to your property. 

If you're experiencing connectivity issues, it's important to note that the optimal distance for the hub from your smart meter is 10 metres (or 30 feet), without multiple barriers such as walls, metal structures, or large appliances. Your hub is connected when the light on the hub is solid green and you can see live energy data in the app

If the hub loses connectivity to the meter, the device will attempt to reconnect automatically. If the connection is re-established, your information displays as it typically does.

There are a few things you can try:

• Make sure that your hub has power. The front status light should be illuminated.
• Confirm that your internet connection is working.
• Power off the device for more than 10 seconds.

If you've tried these steps but are still unable to see your electricity usage information, you may need to create a support request. For HydroHome hubs, please use the in-app chat support or call 1-236-239-2252.

Note: Don’t perform a factory reset for general troubleshooting. Factory resets mean all energy data is erased and the connection to your smart meter will be disconnected. 

When your smart meter is exchanged with a new one:

• In the hub setting under ‘Reset Options’, use the "Remove from Account"
• Complete a factory reset of your hub
• Use the app to submit a bind request.

If your device doesn’t connect within 48 hours, use the in-app chat to contact HydroHome support for further assistance.

The app uses a statistical model, known as disaggregation, to estimate your usage breakdown based on your total usage at each time interval, combined with your answers to the home profile questionnaire, and available data from public data sources, including weather. 

The model aims to achieve 90% disaggregation accuracy and an 80% appliance events recognition.   

The disaggregation is not live. Accurate disaggregation requires patterns of usage and energy signatures that happen over time. Results from these calculations can only be expressed in terms of recent usage, they can’t be calculated for live usage (unless you have a connected device that monitors usage live).  

You can improve the accuracy by filling out the home profile or by getting a hub. If you have a hub, you can improve the accuracy further by getting smart devices that also measure usage. 

The login credentials you use for the HydroHome app are the same that you use to log in to MyHydro on bchydro.com.  

If you forget your password, reset it in MyHydro. Then, log in to the HydroHome app with your updated password.  

The HydroHome app uses the same data source as MyHydro (your bchydro.com account).  

The data presented in MyHydro is your hourly interval data captured by your smart meter. At times, this information may be estimated. These values are not used for billing purposes. We use register readings captured at the start and end of each billing cycle for billing.  

The HydroHome app doesn’t receive register readings and can’t do a similar estimation. The app will display the actual and estimated intervals as received from BC Hydro systems. 

If you have a hub, live data from the smart meter will be displayed in the app. This live data isn’t available through MyHydro. Prior to setting up the hub, the app will display the historical hourly consumption back to the earlier of your move in date or the last 13 months. 

Data displayed in the HydroHome app is not used for billing. 

The app presents hourly energy readings that display the average power consumed over a one-hour period. 

When the app is paired with a hub, the hub requests instantaneous power demand readings (in watts) from the smart meter at 30-second intervals when you’re not in the app, or three-second intervals when you’re using the app. The app will display the average of these power readings over a minute. 

For self-generation accounts, your smart meter will log the net consumption from the smart meter. For example, if your home is consuming 10 kilowatts (kW) but your solar panels are generating 2 kW, the meter will see 10 kW - 2 kW = 8 kW. Over an hour period, if the loads are constant, the hourly interval data in the app will show 8 kWh (10 kWh - 2 kWh). 

If you move, your HydroHome app connection at your old address will end as of your move out date. Electricity data for your old address will no longer be available in the app.

If you moved to another address within our service area, your BC Hydro account at your new address will be connected to your HydroHome app, as long as it’s linked to your MyHydro profile.

If you have a hub, you’ll need to re-connect it to your BC Hydro account at your new address via the app.

• Use the “Remove From Account”
• Perform a factory reset of your hub.
• At your new home, initiate a bind request using the app.
• If your device doesn’t connect within 48 hours, use the in-app chat to contact HydroHome support for further assistance

HydroHome hubs establish a secure, wireless connection with your home’s smart meter and provide real-time energy use and cost feedback. Your hub energy monitor and meter are securely authenticated and paired only with each other. The device must be within 30 feet of the meter to have a strong connection and transmit information to your hub.

Yes, they're secure. Only the energy monitor registered to the meter at your home will display your energy use information, and only you and people you authorize will be able to see your real-time electricity use. 

The HydroHome app uses secure IT protocols to share your data with Powerley, the third-party technology partner who built and supports the app.  

Only authorized individuals at BC Hydro and the service provider (Powerley) are given access to your identifiable data.

Data that's collected by and shared with Powerley is used by Powerley to operate and manage the HydroHome app. The energy data and HydroHome system usage data collected allows Powerley to present energy usage statistics, create personalized energy management advice and operate the Smart Home services. The data is not shared or used by any third party not directly involved in the delivery of the app service.

The data used to operate the app is stored on a third party (Powerley) server located in the U.S. Agreements are in place to ensure your data is stored and handled securely.

You can delete your data from the system by withdrawing from HydroHome. 

Within one week of receiving an opt-out or withdrawal request, all your identifying information in the HydroHome system will be removed. Any remaining data within files cannot be retrieved and linked to a specific customer, address, or identifiable site, meeting all Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) requirements for de-identification and removal.

Once you register for HydroHome, you’ll remain a participant indefinitely, or until such time that:

• You withdraw from the service,
• Your BC Hydro account(s) become ineligible or closes,
• Your online BC Hydro account profile privileges change,
• The program rules change, or
• You don’t use your HydroHome app for longer than 18 months.

If you’re removed from the service due to inactivity for 18 months, you can re-register again as long as the service remains available.

If you'd like to withdraw, you can do so by: 

• Logging into your MyHydro online account at bchydro.com, and withdrawing from the service, or
• Call our customer service team at 1-800 BCHYDRO (1 800 224 9376) for assistance.

If your question isn't answered here, contact our HydroHome support team by:

• Starting a live chat via the app, or
• Calling 1 877 763 7782.

1. Perform a factory reset of your hub.
2. Please recycle the hub appropriately.