The Location & Utility Info page brings together all the settings that affect how your devices function based on where you are and what you pay for energy. These settings work together to ensure accurate scheduling, precise cost tracking, and optimal energy management.
Access these settings by navigating to Menu (☰) > Location & Utility Info.
Device Location
Setting a location for your Emporia devices is crucial for optimizing their functionality and enabling accurate energy management tailored to your specific area.
Why Location Matters
Sun-Based Scheduling - Features like "sun up" and "sun down" scheduling depend on your device's location to function accurately
Utility Rate Selection - Setting the device location enables you to select energy utility rates applicable to your area for precise cost calculations and energy insights
Location-Based Automation - Ensures time-of-use schedules and solar optimization features work correctly for your region
Automatic Location During Setup
When onboarding a new device, enabling location permissions is required to establish Bluetooth communications. During this process, the device's location is often saved automatically to simplify setup. You can change or adjust this setting if an invalid location was initially saved or wasn't properly saved during the setup process.
How to Set or Update Device Location
Prerequisites:
Ensure Location Services/Location Settings are enabled for the Emporia Energy app on your phone or tablet
Make sure you are physically near the device when making updates
Steps:
Open the Emporia Energy app
Tap the menu icon (☰) in the app
Select Location & Utility Info
Tap Location
Select the device you want to update
The map will refresh to your current location
Alternatively, you can drag the map to your desired location
Once the bullseye is positioned correctly, tap Save
Setting Different Locations for Multiple Devices
You can update the location for each device individually, making it possible to track devices in different physical locations. This is particularly useful for:
Multi-property management
Vacation homes or rental properties
Devices installed at different addresses
Time Zone Settings
Setting the appropriate time zone for your Emporia device is essential for ensuring accurate functionality across the platform.
Why Time Zone is Critical
Accurate Measurements - Ensures energy usage data is captured in the correct time frame
Notifications - Aligns alert timing with your local time so you receive notifications when they're relevant
Scheduling - Makes Energy Management features like schedules and automation function properly based on your actual local time
Impact of Incorrect Time Zone
If the time zone is incorrect, energy usage data, notifications, and scheduled activities may not align with your actual local time. This can result in schedules running at the wrong times, inaccurate daily/monthly summaries, and confusing notification timestamps.
How to Set Time Zone Per Device
Open the Emporia Energy app
Tap the menu icon (☰) in the app
Navigate to Location & Utility Info
Tap Time Zone
Choose the device for which you want to set the time zone
Select the appropriate time zone from the drop-down list
Tap Save to apply the changes
Setting Different Time Zones for Different Devices
Yes! You can assign individual time zones to each device in your household. This is useful for:
Managing properties in different time zones
Traveling with portable devices
Coordinating devices across multiple locations
Utility Rates and Energy Costs
Emporia Energy offers options for setting utility rates within the app, allowing you to view your energy usage in currency terms instead of just kilowatt-hours (kWh). This helps you understand the actual cost of your energy consumption and maximize savings.
Why Utility Rates Matter
Track energy costs in real-time
Understand the financial impact of your energy usage
Optimize time-of-use scheduling for maximum savings
Compare actual costs against your utility bills
Option 1: Emporia Verified Plans
Emporia is building a comprehensive utility rate database to provide you with the most accurate and up-to-date rate information.
What are Emporia Verified Plans?
Emporia Verified Plans are utility rates that have been entered and maintained directly by our team at Emporia Energy. These plans offer several benefits:
Direct Control - Rates can be updated quickly by Emporia without relying on third-party databases or utility company submissions
Improved Accuracy - Our team ensures rate information is current and correctly configured
Regular Maintenance - We actively monitor and update rates as utilities change their pricing
Transition Note:
While we transition to our proprietary database, some utility rate plans may still use data provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). We're actively working to expand our Emporia Verified Plans coverage to include more utilities and regions.
How to Select Your Utility Provider:
Tap the menu icon (☰) in the app
Navigate to Location & Utility Info
Tap Utility Rates
Select your device
Choose Utility Rate Plan
Search for your utility provider
Select the appropriate rate plan from the list
Tap Save
What to Do If Your Rate Isn't Available:
If your utility rate is not available in the app today or if it is incorrect, please reach out to our customer support team. We'll work to add your utility's rates to our database.
Option 2: Manual Rate Entry
For utilities not yet in our database or for custom rate plans, you can manually enter your energy rate.
When to Use Manual Entry:
Your utility provider is not listed in the Emporia database
You have a custom or specialized rate plan
You're located outside the United States
You want to use an average rate for simplicity
How to Enter Your Rate Manually:
Tap the menu icon (☰) in the app
Navigate to Location & Utility Info
Tap Utility Rates
Select your device
Choose Manual Rate Entry
Enter the cost per kWh in cents (e.g., 12.5 for 12.5 cents per kWh or $0.125/kWh)
Tap Save
How the App Calculates Costs:
The app calculates costs by multiplying this rate by your energy usage (measured in kWh).
Default Rate:
The default rate is set to 13.2 cents per kWh (US National Average).
Multi-Currency Tip:
If your utility bill is in a different currency (other than USD), you can still enter the rate per kWh as charged by your provider. The app will perform a simple multiplication calculation without accounting for currency conversions. You can update your currency symbol separately via Account Options (see the App Appearance and Preferences article).
Applying Rates to Multiple Devices
Once you save a rate plan to one of your devices, the app will prompt you with options to apply the same rate to other devices on your account. This saves time when configuring multiple devices in the same location.
Billing Date
The Billing Date setting in the Emporia app allows you to align the display of monthly energy usage data with your utility billing cycle, rather than the standard calendar month.
What is the Billing Date Setting?
When a billing date is configured for a device, the app recalculates usage data to align with the specified billing cycle. This helps you track your energy usage and costs in a way that matches your actual utility bill.
How It Works
Billing Alignment - Data is recalculated to match your selected billing period, from the chosen date of one month to the day before that date in the following month
Home Screen Impact - This setting affects how measurements are displayed on the Home screen of the app
Graphs View - It no longer applies to the Graphs view, as the graphing functionality now features scrollable and pannable navigation, enabling effortless browsing of energy data across any date range
Current Limitations
The Billing Date can be set up to the 28th of the month.
Example
Setting the billing date to the 8th means your billing month will run from the 8th of one month to the 7th of the next month. If your utility bill covers January 8 through February 7, setting your billing date to the 8th will align your app's monthly totals with your actual bill.
How to Set Your Billing Date
Tap the menu icon (☰) in the app
Navigate to Location & Utility Info
Tap Billing Date
Select your device
Choose the day of the month your billing cycle starts (1-28)
Tap Save
Comparing with Utility Bills
Once you've set your billing date and utility rate, the Home screen will show your energy costs for the current billing period, making it easy to compare with your utility bill when it arrives.
Feedback and Suggestions
This knowledge base is continuously evolving to provide comprehensive support for managing your energy effectively. If you found this article unhelpful or think it could be improved, please contact our Customer Support team.