Loop energy saving monitor hands on review
Over the past month I have been trialling a new energy monitor called Loop which not only tells you how much electricity you’re using, but actually aims to save you money.
Loop officially launched at the Ideal Home Show on March 15th 2013 and, like most monitors on the market, Loop makes energy saving simple by constantly tracking exactly how much energy you use, when you use it and shows you how much it’s really costing on your tariff.
Where Loop is different though is that, as well as helping you reduce the amount of energy you use, Loop has teamed up with uSwitch, the energy switching experts, to help ensure you also pay the least for it.
This means that you can compare your actual energy usage against the prices from all the UK energy providers and switch to your cheapest plan.
Loop is designed to put you in control, not your energy provider, giving you everything you need to take action to save money.
Getting in the Loop
The starter kit makes it really easy to get Loop set up in a matter of moments by following the simple enclosed instructions.
All you need to do is plug one part of the kit into your broadband router and clip the other onto the cable by your electricity meter.
After that, it’s a case of following the step-by-step online guide to create your Loop account and install your Loop kit.
Loop even lets you know that the kit has been installed successfully and immediately starts measuring your energy.
Loop: Energy updates
Loop sends you weekly updates of how much energy you have used over the last 7 days, and also compares it with your previous ‘scores’.
Yup, this could well bring out the competitive game player in you in to action as you try to beat your highest, or rather lowest score.
The update breaks down how much energy you’ve used and, using the tariff details you entered when setting up your account, how much that has cost you.
As well as how much the last week’s power has cost you, the update also tell you how much your energy use has cost the planet in carbon emission.
You are also given your total usage and, if you have set these up, how you are doing on matching your goals for budget and emissions as well as any awards you’ve earned.
I have only just set this bit up so, as you can see, I’ve yet to achieve any of that.
Loop: Money saving tariff comparison
After using the Loop for a month I unlocked the comparison feature – I’m sure the people behind Loop must be gamers.
This is where Loop makes it easy to see if you can save that hard-earned money of yours.
Obviously, cutting the amount of electricity you use by switching off and unplugging anything you’re not using makes a difference but huge savings can be made by simply changing your provider or moving over to a tariff which better serves your needs.
When I set Loop up I was with British Gas, but I have since moved over to a new plan with EDF which should save me a noticeable amount overall. Saying that though, it appears that there are further possible options for me to investigate.
This takes the hassle out of searching for alternative providers and tariffs and, even though we all want to save money and energy where we can, sometimes the prospect of researching means to do this can put us off.
Thankfully Loop’s buddying up with uSwitch makes this process no more taxing than clicking the compare option.
Loop: Conclusion
As your personal energy assistant, Loop takes the hard work out of saving. You can access all of your energy information at any time, anywhere by logging into your Loop account online, or sit back and let Loop send the information to you, through personalised alerts.
These handy features makes everything clear and easy to do:
- Live energy feed – tells you in real time exactly how much energy you are using
- Easy to understand energy information – shows you how much energy you use in pounds and pence, as well as KWh and CO2 emissions, with informative graphs that make it easy to understand how you are using energy and spending money over time
- Budgeting – set targets for the day, week or month and track your progress
- Compare energy prices – see what your exact energy usage would cost on other tariffs to make sure you’re always on the best deal
The Loop starter kit and 12 month subscription to Loop online is available to buy now from Amazon
, priced at £29.99, with a money back guarantee if you don’t save in the first 12 months.
For more information visit www.your-loop.com
