Exchange Electricity customers have reduced their energy consumption significantly
The energy transition and the common concern about sufficient electricity supplies have made Helen’s Exchange Electricity customers turn ideas into action. Our customers who have signed up for Exchange Electricity reduced their energy consumption by 15 per cent while the consumption of customers with a fixed-priced electricity contract remained unchanged. The most important tool for those wishing to save energy is the Oma Helen service where you can monitor your electricity consumption even down at the hourly level.
The results on energy saving by Exchange Electricity customers were shown in the study conducted by Helen’s Data and AI unit. In the study, the energy consumption and changes taken place in them were compared between customers who had a contract tied to the market price of electricity and those with a fixed-priced contract.
“Based on the material we have collected, it can be said that Exchange Electricity customers have reduced their energy consumption by an average of 15 per cent year on year, and one-third of these customers decreased their consumption by even more than 25 per cent. This development was not in evidence with households that still have a fixed-priced electricity contract. Therefore, the price of electricity has a significant impact on consumption,” says Mikko Muurinen, Head of Data & AI at Helen.
While customers who have switched to Exchange Electricity have reduced their total energy consumption and that way saved actual money, they have also been able to gain a price that is about 10 per cent lower than the average market price of electricity by shifting their consumption to the lowest-cost hours of the day. Frugal and proactive energy usage is therefore also financially worthwhile.
Modern tools help to save energy
People’s rapidly increasing interest in their own energy consumption is also evident in the number of users of Oma Helen, which has doubled in just a few months. Well over half of Helen’s customers have started using the service, which is available as a mobile app and in the browser, and the current number of daily users is more than 20,000.
With Oma Helen, users can review their own energy consumption with a longer-range trend level and at the hourly, daily, weekly, and annual levels. The service also provides interesting data, for example, on the days of the week you are using the most energy.
“In our opinion, it is important that people are interested in their own energy consumption, and we want to encourage our customers to use energy in a smart way. By monitoring the consumption data produced by Oma Helen, it is possible to schedule your energy consumption and reduce it considerably. We are constantly developing the service and will be introducing, e.g. the price data of Exchange Electricity, as well as automatic price alerts and notices concerning your own usage habits,” explains Tuomas Teuri, Helen’s Chief Digital Officer.
What is Exchange Electricity?
For customers of Exchange Electricity, the price of electricity varies by the hour according to the market price of the power exchange. This guarantees that the price is always competitively tendered and up-to-date. The hourly prices for the next day are reported during the previous day, for example, in Oma Helen, which means that you can plan your own energy consumption in advance. Smart energy usage and cutting back on unnecessary consumption are the most effective ways to ensure that there is sufficient electricity in all situations. Energy saving is particularly important during consumption peaks.
By optimising consumption, you can also benefit financially from lower-cost hourly prices. Where possible, carry out activities that use a lot of energy, such as doing the laundry, going to sauna, charging an EV, or electric heating in the evening, during the night and at weekends when the price of Exchange Electricity is usually at its lowest. On the other hand, hourly prices can be high especially during weekdays when it is worth keeping your electricity consumption as low as possible.
It is easy to start saving energy in your home, for example, by reducing the room temperature, spending less time in the shower, decreasing underfloor heating, and cutting down on the use of entertainment electronics. It is worth switching off all electricity-consuming devices and disconnecting chargers from the socket when not in use. In addition, learning the basic principles of ventilation, heating and cooling also help to save energy.