General FAQ
- How much does Lowfoot.com cost?
- What are Lowfoot Credits?
- How do I earn Lowfoot Credits?
- How can I earn maximum credits by lowering my electricity use during peak hours?
- What can I do with my Lowfoot Credits?
- Why do I have to give Lowfoot my utility account information in order to use all the features of Lowfoot.com and earn credits?
- What does Lowfoot gather from the utility website with my login information?
- Does Lowfoot gather any personal or address information or other information using my utility account and login information?
- How does Lowfoot protect my privacy?
- How does Lowfoot make money?
- What is a peak hour?
- What is a baseline?
- What is my target and how is it calculated?
- How does Lowfoot calculate my baseline?
- Do I have to provide Lowfoot with my utility login information to use Lowfoot.com?
- How can I invite my friends to join Lowfoot.com?
- Will I automatically reduce my energy use just by joining Lowfoot.com?
- How can I delete my account and what gets deleted?
- I don\’t have a smart meter, can I join Lowfoot?
- I have a smart meter, can I join Lowfoot?
- There is no option for my utility when I try and add my utility account to Lowfoot, what can I do?
Question: How much does Lowfoot.com cost?
Answer:
Nothing. Lowfoot is free to use.
Question: What are Lowfoot Credits?
Answer:
Lowfoot Credits are points you earn when you achieve your energy demand and conservation goals.
Question: How do I earn Lowfoot Credits?
Answer:
There are three ways to earn Lowfoot credits.
1) Lowering your electricity use specifically during peak hours.
2) Meeting or exceeding your monthly target for overall energy-use reduction.
3) When you reduce your consumption, you reduce your carbon emissions. Lowfoot Credits are awarded for your reduced carbon production too.
Question: How can I earn maximum credits by lowering my electricity use during peak hours?
Answer:
Keep your electricity use during peak periods each day as low as possible. We average your four lowest hours of usage for the past 24 hours and compare this average to each of the peak hours. The closer you keep your peak hour usage to the level of energy use in the four hours with the lowest usage, the more points you earn. The higher the peak hour, the more points you earn.
Question: What can I do with my Lowfoot Credits?
Answer:
Two weeks after the end of each month we will send you a PayPal transaction. One thousand (1,000) Lowfoot credits are worth $1.00 CDN.
Question: Why do I have to give Lowfoot my utility account information in order to use all the features of Lowfoot.com and earn credits?
Answer:
Lowfoot uses your utility account and login information to securely gather your smart meter hourly data each day from your utility\’s website. This is how we know how much energy you are using and can measure whether or not you are meeting your reduction goals.
Question: What does Lowfoot gather from the utility website with my login information?
Answer:
When you first activate a utility on Lowfoot, we gather your historical usage data to calculate your baseline. Then on an ongoing basis we we gather your smart meter hourly usage data. We will usually check your smart meter data every day as soon as your utility has posted the data.
Question: Does Lowfoot gather any personal or address information or other information using my utility account and login information?
Answer:
No. Lowfoot only gathers your historical and smart meter data. We disregard all personal information, address information and other information on your utility\’s website to ensure maximum privacy.
Question: How does Lowfoot protect my privacy?
Answer:
Lowfoot goes to extreme length to ensure your privacy is protected. We use state of the art encryption to store your information in our databases. Our servers are located in a high security facility. We also do not store any address information or location information in our databases to ensure there is no link between your usage and your address. Your privacy is a core competency of our business strategy.
Question: How does Lowfoot make money?
Answer:
Lowfoot currently makes money from advertisements. We allow ads to be displayed to you in various locations on Lowfoot and in its notifications. All ads are approved by Lowfoot for display.
Question: What is a peak hour?
Answer:
Peak hours are the hours of the day during which demand for electricity is highest. Most utilities now charge more for electricity during peak hours and less during hours when demand is lower.
Question: What is a baseline?
Answer:
Your baseline is calculated using all available historical data from your utility. Each month\’s baseline will be different because of the changes in seasons, which cause changes in energy usage patterns.
Question: What is my target and how is it calculated?
Answer:
Your target is what we want to measure your energy reduction against. Your target is 10% below your baseline. In the future we will allow each member of Lowfoot to choose their target.
Question: How does Lowfoot calculate my baseline?
Answer:
The details of how we calculate your baseline are proprietary and are considered part of Lowfoot, Inc.\’s intellectual property. But basically the baseline is an average of your historical consumption. Baseline calculations are exactly the same for all members to ensure fair and accurate results.
Question: Do I have to provide Lowfoot with my utility login information to use Lowfoot.com?
Answer:
No. You do not have to activate a utility on Lowfoot in order to use Lowfoot.com and interact with our other members. However, if Lowfoot does not have access to your usage data through your utility Lowfoot can\’t give you feedback you to help you understand your energy usage and change your habits. And we can\’t award you any Lowfoot Credits.
Question: How can I invite my friends to join Lowfoot.com?
Answer:
You can invite your friends by logging into Lowfoot, clicking Invite Friends and entering their email addresses. Lowfoot will then send them an invitation. Note: We do not store your friends\’ email address permanently and will not send them any other emails.
Question: Will I automatically reduce my energy use just by joining Lowfoot.com?
Answer:
No. Lowfoot.com will not lower your energy usage. It is up to you to lower your energy usage. But Lowfoot.com provides you with information, connections to other members and analysis in order to make it easier for you achieve your goals.
Question: How can I delete my account and what gets deleted?
Answer:
If you want to delete your account, we’d be sorry to see you go. But in keeping with our privacy policy, we make it easy for you to delete your membership. Simply go to Edit Profile (on the top right of the Lowfoot home page, right beside the Log Out button) and then click Delete My Account at the bottom of the profile editing page. When you choose to delete your account everything will be deleted from our live databases. This is non-recoverable and we will not be able to recover membership data for those who choose to delete their membership and decide they want to come back. To sign up again you will have to register again and reauthorize your utility accounts.
Question: I don\’t have a smart meter, can I join Lowfoot?
Answer:
Yes you can join Lowfoot. However you will not be able to become a full member. We will open up full membership to non-smart meter utilities in the future.
Question: I have a smart meter, can I join Lowfoot?
Answer:
Yes you can join Lowfoot. However, check to see if your utility is supported by Lowfoot after you click \”Add a Meter\”
Question: There is no option for my utility when I try and add my utility account to Lowfoot, what can I do?
Answer:
If your utility is not on the list let us know, and we\’ll work on getting your utility supported. Invite your friends who live in the same area to join Lowfoot to help us prioritize the utility compatibility we will work on next.
