This is sort-of followup to [My Number 1 pet peeve:AC left on when they leave!]
(http://www.airhostsforum.com/t/my-number-1-pet-peeve-ac-left-on-when-they-leave/7218) and Electricity usage monitoring .
It turns up that our electricity bill was up because our electricity supplier, which goes by the acronym BEST, was earlier supplying us with old-fashioned and (apparently) broken meters, which were not recording the correct usage, and therefore charging us less than they should have. The new electronic one they are using, according to them, is accurate. It’s true that our meter was changed, apparently from the old mechanical one to the new electronic one, at around the New Year 2017, and our bills have jumped abruptly from then on out. In any case, it seems we have arrived in a Brave New World of increased electricity bills, which is unwelcome news for us.
It was suggested to me (by our yoga instructor), that I try using one of those slots that one finds in hotels, where one puts a card in to make the electricity come on, and when you take it out, the power goes out. This could be attached to the key as part of a keychain, so guests would be “encouraged” to take it with them when they leave. This actually sounds like a good idea, though a bit unfriendly and “hoteley”. it’s also mentioned tangentially in the first thread linked to above (“My Number 1 pet peeve”), but nobody confirmed that they actually use it.
But needs must as the devil drives, and I’m fairly sure that many of my guests leave the A/C blasting away when they leave for the day. The fact that whenever I got in there to do any work (when the guests are not present), the A/C is on only goes to confirm my suspicions. This is, for example true of our current guests,.
As mentioned in my earlier post, I’ve thought of installing a meter (or possibly meters) to monitor energy usage. I think I’ll do this, but the key card seems to be a good idea as well.
So, has anyone out there tried this, and if so, how did it go?