The Energy Detective

[jb4647]

This looks like a pretty good way to monitor my energy usage in real-time:

http://www.theenergydetective.com/index.html

What do y'all think? The fact that it hooks up to the fuse box would work for me as I live in a condo and my electric meter is four floors below in the garage. I've seen similar devices but they hook to the meter.

Anyone seen and or used some like this?

[Mr. Chenevert]

I would just purchase a Watt meter that you plug a single device into. Measure various devices in your home for a 24 hour period to learn how much power they draw. You will be surprised that certain deviced, even when "off" are pulling 15-20W all day long.

Then device by device, you can lower your total power consumption and lowering your power bill at the same time.

[musicman]

This looks like a pretty good way to monitor my energy usage in real-time:

what's your concern?

[jb4647]

what's your concern?

I'd like to monitor my energy usage in real time so I won't be surprised by the electric bill every month. Have you tried going down and reading your electric meter? You have to be a math major to understand the damn thing. The Kill-A-Watt thing is nice but it only works with items you plug into it...not things like central air.

I think more information is always best so that we can make better and smarter decisions. This is something I don't the the electric companies want us to know. It would behove us to match consumption with generation so that we know when its used and we can do something about it at the time rather than measurement every 30 days or so.

They have been doing this in Europe:

http://www.edn-europe.com/europeswitchesto...713+Europe.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter

[musicman]

I'd like to monitor my energy usage in real time so I won't be surprised by the electric bill every month. Have you tried going down and reading your electric meter? You have to be a math major to understand the damn thing. The Kill-A-Watt thing is nice but it only works with items you plug into it...not things like central air.

I grew up in the analog era, not a prob.

I think more information is always best so that we can make better and smarter decisions. This is something I don't the the electric companies want us to know. It would behove us to match consumption with generation so that we know when its used and we can do something about it at the time rather than measurement every 30 days or so.

being informed is one thing, but common sense can sure go a long way when it comes to energy savings.

[Subdude]

I'd like to monitor my energy usage in real time so I won't be surprised by the electric bill every month. Have you tried going down and reading your electric meter? You have to be a math major to understand the damn thing. The Kill-A-Watt thing is nice but it only works with items you plug into it...not things like central air.

I think more information is always best so that we can make better and smarter decisions. This is something I don't the the electric companies want us to know. It would behove us to match consumption with generation so that we know when its used and we can do something about it at the time rather than measurement every 30 days or so.

They have been doing this in Europe:

http://www.edn-europe.com/europeswitchesto...713+Europe.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter

I haven't seen the units but I have certainly heard of the concept as sort of an initial step to smart metering. I think your idea about using the information to make better decisions about usage is absolutely correct. It makes perfect sense.

[20thStDad]

Is your meter special? There should be 4 or 5 dials, just read left to right to get the total number. Take the final reading from your last bill and do some subtraction. The only tricky part would be when it rolls over, but that just makes it 2 step subtraction. I used to read mine every day during the summer when we lived in a crappily insulated apartment.

[jb4647]

I grew up in the analog era, not a prob.

being informed is one thing, but common sense can sure go a long way when it comes to energy savings.

That's the diffence between the generations I guess, they get stuck using the old things and believing that sense without data is knowledge.

The typewriter was a great product in its day but then the word processor and computer came along and our productivity grew by leaps and bounds.

I think that if each one of us knew how much energy we were consuming on a daily basis, we would adjust downward. The power companies (who rammed thru de-regulation promising us to save us money via the "free market"...how is that working out by the way?) don't want is to keep tabs because then we would start to conserve and the $$ we send them would decrease.

I would hope a product like this would help us become a more informed consumer and asked the question if anyone knew if it did what it claims to do....monitor energy in real-time. I was also curious as to how easy it would be to install.

Whenever I see analog products being used, my first question is why the hell is that old relic still in use? Time to turn the page and let the future march forward. Those that don't will be lost in the dustbin of history.

[mkultra25]

Whenever I see analog products being used, my first question is why the hell is that old relic still in use? Time to turn the page and let the future march forward. Those that don't will be lost in the dustbin of history.

If Tom Sawyer had used a brush that broad, he could've whitewashed his fence with one stroke.

[20thStDad]

Ok I'm confused. You do have a device that let's you see how much energy your whole house is using (meter), even if it is analog. Are the smart meters a) more accurate, or b ) just better at relaying the same information because they are digital?

I read the two links but neither describes what that "extra" information might be. What could it be besides an analysis of the same information, such as trends on your consumption rate over time? What might that show, that you use more when your a/c or electric water heater are pulling power? It's not difficult to make a list of the top 10 electricity users in your house.

I'm kind of with musicman on this, common sense says if you turn off everything you don't need on, you are going to lower your consumption and therefore the bill. Can't do much more than that in the end. But if there is some new magical information that I can get from a smart meter, I'd like to know what it is. Information is good, data is fun.

[musicman]

That's the diffence between the generations I guess, they get stuck using the old things and believing that sense without data is knowledge.

The typewriter was a great product in its day but then the word processor and computer came along and our productivity grew by leaps and bounds.

those with electric meters have the data remember, you're the one that has problems reading it. how does reading the data digitally increase productivity leaps and bounds? to me it's like an analog vs digital clock. it's just a different way of presenting the data. if you're monitoring the thing multiple times a day, for me, productivity goes down cause now you can't do other things.

I think that if each one of us knew how much energy we were consuming on a daily basis, we would adjust downward. The power companies (who rammed thru de-regulation promising us to save us money via the "free market"...how is that working out by the way?) don't want is to keep tabs because then we would start to conserve and the $$ we send them would decrease.

those of us who pay an electric bill receive an update on how much we use monthly. if your bill is too much, then you can adjust the major energy users accordingly. turn up your thermostat on the a/c, turn down the thermostat on the electric water heater(if you have one), wash/dry larger loads of clothes vs. smaller ones, etc.

I would hope a product like this would help us become a more informed consumer and asked the question if anyone knew if it did what it claims to do....monitor energy in real-time.

are you going to get one for your water and gas usage too? you would really be informed then.

I was also curious as to how easy it would be to install.

if you're afraid of electricity don't do it. if you aren't it looks easy.

Whenever I see analog products being used, my first question is why the hell is that old relic still in use? Time to turn the page and let the future march forward. Those that don't will be lost in the dustbin of history.

toilet technology is old too but don't you have one in your house?

[jm1fd]

I'd like to monitor my energy usage in real time so I won't be surprised by the electric bill every month. Have you tried going down and reading your electric meter? You have to be a math major to understand the damn thing. The Kill-A-Watt thing is nice but it only works with items you plug into it...not things like central air.

I think more information is always best so that we can make better and smarter decisions. This is something I don't the the electric companies want us to know. It would behove us to match consumption with generation so that we know when its used and we can do something about it at the time rather than measurement every 30 days or so.

They have been doing this in Europe:

http://www.edn-europe.com/europeswitchesto...713+Europe.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_meter

Hate to burst your conspiracy theory bubble, but CenterPoint is going to be rolling smart meters out in the Houston area over the next few years. They've already deployed smart meters up in Deep East Texas.

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2008_4569511

[jb4647]

Hate to burst your conspiracy theory bubble, but CenterPoint is going to be rolling smart meters out in the Houston area over the next few years. They've already deployed smart meters up in Deep East Texas.

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2008_4569511

They are also going to be charging a monthly rental fee for the unit of $5+. Just another way for them to create a revenue stream...just like the cable companies with their set-top boxes.

[dbigtex56]

They are also going to be charging a monthly rental fee for the unit of $5+. Just another way for them to create a revenue stream...just like the cable companies with their set-top boxes.

Not really. Cable doesn't work without the boxes. Anyone who cares to can easily learn to read the existing meters. Some people are willing to pay for convenience.

[jm1fd]

Not really. Cable doesn't work without the boxes. Anyone who cares to can easily learn to read the existing meters. Some people are willing to pay for convenience.

Last I checked, they were still pushing plain 'ol analog signals as well as QAM down the wire. Any TV from the last 30+ years will allow you to view the analog, and tons of newer flat panel TVs have QAM decoders built in.

They are also going to be charging a monthly rental fee for the unit of $5+. Just another way for them to create a revenue stream...just like the cable companies with their set-top boxes.

Yeah...it irks me that they're charging us for this, while it will save them money in the long run since they won't have to pay the salaries of meter readers. Although it isn't a monthly rental fee per se....it sounds like it is going to be phased out completely after 5 years.

CenterPoint expects customers will be charged $4.75 per month for the meters over five years while all customers, regardless of whether they have smart meters, will pay another $1.75 per month for eight years to cover installation of new equipment throughout the grid.

[editor]

Last I checked, they were still pushing plain 'ol analog signals as well as QAM down the wire. Any TV from the last 30+ years will allow you to view the analog, and tons of newer flat panel TVs have QAM decoders built in.

Not for long. In some cities Comcast is "all digital" on its network, which means you get a box or a CableCARD or you don't get anything -- not even clear QAM. I thought there was some regulation that required QAM, but it's not on my circuit.

Yeah...it irks me that they're charging us for this, while it will save them money in the long run since they won't have to pay the salaries of meter readers. Although it isn't a monthly rental fee per se....it sounds like it is going to be phased out completely after 5 years.

Sounds like ATMs. Remember when they first came out the banks promised they'd be free forever because they saved so much money on reduced teller staffs? Yeah, how long did that last? A couple of years?

CenterPoint expects customers will be charged $4.75 per month for the meters over five years while all customers, regardless of whether they have smart meters, will pay another $1.75 per month for eight years to cover installation of new equipment throughout the grid.

If they're going to mandate smart meters, then the customer should be given the option of using his own smart meter, the way you can use your own cable box (or CableCARD) to watch TV.

[jm1fd]

Not for long. In some cities Comcast is "all digital" on its network, which means you get a box or a CableCARD or you don't get anything -- not even clear QAM. I thought there was some regulation that required QAM, but it's not on my circuit.

Fortunately you can buy your own cable box, and the FCC has required that they give you at least one card at no charge.

[ssmallen]

I have that device. Got it before I moved to Houston area, my old electric provider offered a big rebate for people that wanted them (after rebate it cost me $25-35). I like it, I can see anytime I want the approx per hour cost my electricity usage is setting me back. It's pretty close every month to my actual usage on my bill (within ~1-2%).

[aggie92]

Looks like they have taken something used for years in the commercial and industrial world (CT's) to a residential application. These have been used and are very important to industrial facilities who are charged based on peak usages. Additionally, they are great for commercial buildings with multiple tenants as well as apartment complexs who want to charge out individually yet only pay one master bill.

Here's a website for a company that I represented for a period of time about 15 years ago - http://www.emon.com/ where you can read all about energy monitoring.

I agree with the others above in that there is very little value to the homeowner except to not have to walk to your meter (in your case down several flights of stairs) because you are charged on a straigt usage amount which you should already know based upon what lights you have turned on, how many tv's are going, whatever other electronics, your a/c settings, etc. You are better off tracking the individual appliances and either making the decision to do without (i.e. that Plasma tv soaking up the electricity) or live with it.

[SilverJK]

Like aggie said, they have been using this in the commercial world for a long time. Using smart meters to charge peak time rates is good because it will flatten the demand curve thus reducing the amount of power needed. (if you use the same amount of power, over a longer time rather than a short time it cost a lot less, and requires less power generation capacity which is good for reducing the emissions of the power generating facilities). Japan has these meters with three lights on them. I'm not certian of what the patterns are, but different patterns mean you are being charged a different amount. I believe it is 1-8 times the normal rate. You better believe when the lights are up to the pattern that means energy costs 8x the normal price, people shut down everything they can.

learn to read the meter, that will save you money now and in the long run.