If you want to save on energy costs, you need to know which appliances consume the most electricity. Only then can you take the worst offenders out of service, or at least keep their consumption in check. There are several tools to determine the power consumption of your fridge, computer, TV and more.
Apps let you track power consumption conveniently from your phone. You gain insight into your data – device consumption and typical runtimes – and can follow usage over days, weeks, months or years.
How does an app work? Measurement hardware – smart plugs or relay switches –measures consumption and sends the data to the app. The app prepares the data clearly, often in tables or charts. Apps help you keep consumption in view and promote mindful energy use.
In Shelly Smart Control, consumption histories are visualized clearly so you can recognize trends instantly and save energy in a targeted way.
Wi-Fi smart plugs primarily serve for remote switching in your smart home, but many also show power consumption. This makes it easy to spot which devices draw the most energy. When buying, ensure the plug’s maximum load fits your appliances.
Examples with power measurement: Shelly Plug M Gen3 is a Matter-compatible plug with energy metering. Shelly Plug PM Gen3 is a smart inline meter without a relay switching function—ideal for precise real-time monitoring of always-on devices such as fridges or freezers. If you want an invisible solution behind the outlet, ask an electrician to install a Wi-Fi-enabled relay such as Shelly 1PM Gen3.
Smart meters are digital, intelligent electricity meters, but they only record the entire household’s consumption. To analyze individual devices, you must watch the meter reading closely: if consumption suddenly spikes at a specific time, check which device caused the peak – for example, the washing machine that started just then. Constantly elevated values can indicate high standby consumption. By checking the reading regularly, you can map peaks more precisely to events and identify typical power guzzlers.
In many cases smart meters are mandatory (e.g., very high annual usage, PV systems from 7 kWp, or controllable heat pumps). Still, for measuring device-level consumption they are not ideal: handling is cumbersome and the results too coarse. Wi-Fi smart plugs are more convenient and provide far more precise data.
A plug-in power meter shows exactly how much electricity a single device consumes. Important: it must show the actual consumption. You simply plug the meter between the outlet and the device.
To have the meter calculate costs, many models let you enter your tariff price per kilowatt-hour. You will find the current price in your last electricity bill or tariff confirmation from your provider.
There is a downside of stand-alone meters: you can only read data on the device itself. Long-term analysis or convenient trend tracking of the connected appliance is not possible.
Apps let you track power consumption conveniently from your phone. You gain insight into your data – device consumption and typical runtimes – and can follow usage over days, weeks, months or years.
How does an app work? Measurement hardware – smart plugs or relay switches –measures consumption and sends the data to the app. The app prepares the data clearly, often in tables or charts. Apps help you keep consumption in view and promote mindful energy use.
In Shelly Smart Control, consumption histories are visualized clearly so you can recognize trends instantly and save energy in a targeted way.
Wi-Fi smart plugs primarily serve for remote switching in your smart home, but many also show power consumption. This makes it easy to spot which devices draw the most energy. When buying, ensure the plug’s maximum load fits your appliances.
Examples with power measurement: Shelly Plug M Gen3 is a Matter-compatible plug with energy metering. Shelly Plug PM Gen3 is a smart inline meter without a relay switching function—ideal for precise real-time monitoring of always-on devices such as fridges or freezers. If you want an invisible solution behind the outlet, ask an electrician to install a Wi-Fi-enabled relay such as Shelly 1PM Gen3.
Smart meters are digital, intelligent electricity meters, but they only record the entire household’s consumption. To analyze individual devices, you must watch the meter reading closely: if consumption suddenly spikes at a specific time, check which device caused the peak – for example, the washing machine that started just then. Constantly elevated values can indicate high standby consumption. By checking the reading regularly, you can map peaks more precisely to events and identify typical power guzzlers.
In many cases smart meters are mandatory (e.g., very high annual usage, PV systems from 7 kWp, or controllable heat pumps). Still, for measuring device-level consumption they are not ideal: handling is cumbersome and the results too coarse. Wi-Fi smart plugs are more convenient and provide far more precise data.
A plug-in power meter shows exactly how much electricity a single device consumes. Important: it must show the actual consumption. You simply plug the meter between the outlet and the device.
To have the meter calculate costs, many models let you enter your tariff price per kilowatt-hour. You will find the current price in your last electricity bill or tariff confirmation from your provider.
There is a downside of stand-alone meters: you can only read data on the device itself. Long-term analysis or convenient trend tracking of the connected appliance is not possible.
With an app such as Shelly Smart Control you can identify power guzzlers quickly. Real-time monitoring lets you track costs live and spot power-hungry devices at a glance.
To save power, you can switch off devices that sit in standby unnecessarily via scenes in the Shelly app – for example, the TV at night or the printer on weekends. You can also create automations that turn selected devices off automatically after a period of inactivity.
The savings potential from measuring power consumption can be considerable. If you identify energy guzzlers and create automations accordingly, you can save up to 40% of electricity costs.
From the measurements you will see, for instance, which standby devices you can safely switch off at certain times. You will find old incandescent bulbs you can replace with LEDs. You will also identify older major appliances with high consumption. Perhaps it finally pays to replace that ten-year-old fridge.
Plus: a look at live data and historical analyses often raises awareness of your own energy use – this alone fosters sustainable saving behavior.
Open the Shelly Smart Control App on your smartphone and select the Shelly device – e.g., Plug M Gen3 or Plug PM Gen3 – that measures an appliance’s power. You can display the current consumption of individual devices or of all devices in real time. Or switch to the overview of watt-hours consumed over the last days, weeks, months or years.
With Shelly’s consumption analysis you have seamless insight into your electricity usage.
Advantages: comfortable, real-time visibility of each device’s consumption; quickly uncover energy-intensive consumers, which often saves several hundred euros per year.
The plug-and-play devices are easy to install yourself, even if you are not a tech expert. Only if you want an invisible solution with a relay behind the wall will you need a professional. Once installed, nothing stands in the way of saving electricity via the app.
Shelly Energy-Saving Mode runs Shelly devices at lower internal temperatures so they consume less energy. This reduces power consumption and extends device lifespan –excess heat is harmful in the long term.
Trade-off: when dimming, lights may pulse slightly due to a constantly, slightly varying voltage.
Easiest: install a Shelly device with energy metering between outlet and appliance and add it to the Shelly app. Live data reveals standby draw immediately.
If a device runs 20 h/day in standby at 1 W, that is 7.3 kWh/year. At €0.35/kWh, the annual cost is about €2.55.
On average 10–20% of total consumption, depending on the number and age of appliances. For a three-person household that equals roughly 300–500 kWh.
Pro: lower device temperature → longer lifespan. Con: when dimming, a slight pulsing may occur due to subtly varying voltage.
