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Does anyone have any recommendations for a whole house energy monitor that is real-time? I like to monitor energy usage due to so much electrical equipment, as well as a family member who uses their Nissan Leaf to charge every now and then.
The energy company gives good month to month data, but this is probably more of a real-time measure and also more detailed - I know some devices tell you which appliance is using the most electricity. Also, I understand this is unnecessary but I love gadgets and this would be a great one to use.
I saw this is the best one so far on the market. Think any other technologies will come up or any other suggestions?
Meh. The concept is simple. Wrap some wire around the incoming legs and note the amperage. Any clamp-on meter will do that. The rest is just details and recording.
Rather than go to the expense, find the meter, and on any day in question walk out to it and write down the reading once an hour or at the beginning and end of the time period in question. You'll get a little exercise and learn some stuff.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a whole house energy monitor that is real-time? I like to monitor energy usage due to so much electrical equipment, as well as a family member who uses their Nissan Leaf to charge every now and then.
The energy company gives good month to month data, but this is probably more of a real-time measure and also more detailed - I know some devices tell you which appliance is using the most electricity. Also, I understand this is unnecessary but I love gadgets and this would be a great one to use.
I saw this is the best one so far on the market. Think any other technologies will come up or any other suggestions?
The hardware is cheap and simple . You're paying for the electronics and the software . It looks like it will do what you want and the price isn't bad if that's the case .
As for as other technology goes , you can't improve on Ohm's Law . Amps X Volts = Watts . You can spend more on the devices but they all derive the data the same way .
Does anyone have any recommendations for a whole house energy monitor that is real-time? I like to monitor energy usage due to so much electrical equipment, as well as a family member who uses their Nissan Leaf to charge every now and then.
The energy company gives good month to month data, but this is probably more of a real-time measure and also more detailed - I know some devices tell you which appliance is using the most electricity. Also, I understand this is unnecessary but I love gadgets and this would be a great one to use.
I saw this is the best one so far on the market. Think any other technologies will come up or any other suggestions?
Unless you're doing some pretty crazy stuff or are clueless about your usage I'd think it would take quite awhile to recoup the $300 cost. So if you think you'll get that much pure enjoyment from the gadget itself, seems like a waste.
We have a smart meter on the house and I can go into my online account with the utility company and see my daily usage and the estimated cost for the month. We just replaced our AC a few days into the billing cycle. I’m waiting to see how the actual bill compares to the estimated one after the change. I wrote the estimated cost down, because the estimate changes as time goes on.
That doesn’t go into specifics but it gives me a figure to work with.
Buy a clamp-on ammeter and a splitter. I have been very happy with my Fluke 337 which also can capture startup current for motors. (This particular model has been discontinued but I'm sure Fluke has a replacement.) With something like the Fluke you also get a full function multimeter and a pair of test leads. The peak hold function helped me diagnose why certain electric heaters trip certain breakers, but not others, etc.
Go around to each appliance and measure the current.
Apply Ohm's Law to get estimated power draw for each appliance of interest.
Multiply est. hours of usage for each X 24 hours/day, sum up all, and this is your estimated total electricity consumption per day. Compare to what your meter says.
The exercise of determining other ways to use the data is left to the student.
You can also buy inexpensive current monitors and hook them up to a data acquisition system (here in the lab we use Labview but there are others) and track current in real time - a simple Expel shredsheet will convert to estimated watts (for inductive loads like motors there is also a power factor but you can generally make some assumptions based on the type of motor).
IIRC, power factor only comes into play in rare circumstances in residential situations, and even in commercial and industrial locations it is of more concern to the power company than the user. The effect upon the entrance meter accuracy is effectively nil, as far as what I have read. About the only time it might be a concern for a homeowner would be during emergency generator use, where the generator might be minimally sized for the loads. The PF effect on mains power is probably akin to the effect of a bug hitting the windshield of an 18 wheeler.
I envy that inrush measurement function on your meter. I can think of a few times I could have used it.
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