Lowfoot becomes an unlikely partner

Over here at the United Way we don’t “endorse”, oh we will “friend”, we will “like” and we may as go as far as “supporting”, but we don’t “endorse”…mainly because we’re so fiscally responsible, we can’t afford to buy the company!

 We like to supply information, advise, suggest and let folks make their own decisions.  That really matters to us, people in control of their lives, rather than having life dictated and directed.

 But today, I’m going to come close to ‘endorsing’.

 Back in June, while tweeting about utility issues, Lowfoot introduced themselves to me, and began the “sell”.

 "Lowfoot securely connects to your smart meter, automatically displays your electricity usage, and helps you lower your bill and earn rewards. And it's all FREE"

 Red Alert!  Red Alert! Red Alert!

 I’m suppose to let this unknown website have access to my hydro meter?  I’ve seen that movie…and all the power goes to the evil doers lair and we all wait for James *swoon* Bonds to save the day.  Well if a James Bond was coming to my house, might be worth it.

 So I began to correspond with Phil and Steve about what it is they do.  Well first they were Canadian…which made a difference...eh.  I wandered the website, did the ‘Google’ to see if nasty anti-Lowfoot websites sprung up, but alas, there was no sign of an evil lair (ok they are from Toronto which almost qualifies).

 So I signed up my home meter.  Spent a week seeing how the website supplied me with information.  Not making the connection between the usage I was seeing, and what my actions were, we did a week long study in the home.  The family wrote down anytime we turned on, or off anything that consumed electricity.  We just let the fridge do it’s thing.  But laundry, dishwashers, hair straighteners, electronic toys, cell phone chargers etc. all were tracked.

 Then we compared the results, we saw what spiked usage and what seemed to not cause a ripple.  It was interesting.

 I was also able to “catch” the kids doing laundry during the day at peek time, while I was at work…cyber spying!  I started hanging my clothes to dry, rather than using the dryer (my set up makes a clothesline not feasible).  Just having the conversation helped, they became more aware of their usage

 We started to see the results on our Hydro One bill, small savings.  Then this fall they reduced my equal billing.

 Yesterday I opened the Hydro One bill to see they’ve reduced it again. 

 When I moved into my townhouse in 2006, my equal billing was $110, it jumped to $130 when they introduced the HST in July 2010, and yesterday….it’s now $66.

 That’s essentially 50% reduction in my hydro bill.

 And I credit Lowfoot! 

For helping us become aware of  usage, for helping me relate my usage, for helping me work with the time of use savings to reduce my bill.

 We, back to the United Way rather than just me, are going to incorporate Lowfoot, and these learning’s, into our financial literacy information.  An endorsement, you might say.  We also signed up the United Way’s office meter.

 Lowfoot is not about the rewards they give you, they are about the rewards you give yourself!