Whole house Watt meter

[strider3700]

smart meters should read higher then the old meters for exactly the same usage. The old meters never overcame inertia on getting that disk spinning for short duration spikes when motors and the such start up. The new meters will record that. They are flat out more accurate.

I got my smart meter 10 months ago. My power usage is down 17.1% in the last 12 months from the previous year but my bill is only down 12%. Everyone got hit by increased fees and kwh costs at the same time that the meters came out and started screaming about them reading higher.

On my meter which should be identical to your's ecomodded (I'm in nanaimo we all get the same meters I believe) the flashing bars are in the left hand side under the 01 when the KWH used is displayed. I've never looked into how to read them to know what they mean though.

BC hydro is supposed to be getting the smart meters online "soon" I know one of the guys working in the GIS department working on the algorithms that figure out where to install the receiving component that will then send the data back to the servers. After that is in the data should be available online shortly after. My understanding is the data will only be sent a few times a day, probably 4. So you won't get anything near as cool as a real time monitor's info.

They are also supposed to be offering whole house monitors similar to this device in the near future. I asked and was told there will be a charge so no idea if it's better to buy one yourself or wait and get it from them.




Even though I currently read my meter manually daily I'm still seriously thinking about getting something to read the meter in real time. I don't want a standalone interface like the device you linked though. I want computer/internet tied similar to a TED. The only issue is my house has a sub panel that my computer room is powered from. TED may or may not work sending data that way. Their support said it depended on a lot of things but try and return the device if it didn't. The blueline device seems to have an addon to give me the same capability but I haven't dug through the website to figure out what is what and pricing.

<edit> I found the write up on amazon.com better then the web page for getting info. It looks promising although the windows only concerns me a bit. I'm assuming that's just for the setup/config of the wireless part. I'm also hoping the data can be dumped and isn't locked into their partner programs. $150 for both components is not bad pricing. more search to do though </edit>

[ecomodded]

Odd my Smart meter has no such bars under the 01.
I am concerned over usage because i have been conserving energy like mad the last 5-6 months and my kwh usage has not changed in my favor from last years readings with the previous wheel meter.
I did not use air conditioning this year despite it being a hot summer, i used a $20 box fan in the attic hatch instead, it uses 50 watts my air conditioner uses 500 watts.
Also i turned my hot water tank to a usable temperature with out the need of adding cold water. The only change is my bill saying i have used more energy not less than last year. I stopped using my power hungry 4 core video card filled desktop pc in favor of my 2 core laptop hooked up to the same 40" lcd monitor.
So far my bills have showed a slightly higher kwh with my conservation efforts.
Bull-dung ! i say haha.
Styder i recommend you check ebay.ca out for watt meters, i bought mine there for $50 delivered, with signature at the door.

[Xringer]

Here's my new point-of-use meter.. Ensupra Electric Gen. Monitor-Display & Record Power-Solar,Wind,Inverter;1d SHIP | eBay

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/applia...itor-20-a.html

Seems like a pretty good unit for 20 bucks..

[strider3700]

The bars aren't constant. I only see mine sometimes. I'm also using less then 1 kwh/hour for the last few months so maybe they have to do with consumption. I'll see if I can get a picture when I read the meter today in a few hours.

If you check the supported meters link here
http://www.bluelineinnovations.com/i...d%20Meters.pdf
you'll see a C2S which is what I have. part way down. It has a picture of the bars. Just checking mine I only have a small arrow point to the right at the moment.


you should put together a spreadsheet of your usage then start a thread similar to mine and doax's
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/conser...-tracking.html

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/conser...-tracking.html

put up some details about your house and we can see if anything jumps out. I love looking at those things.

[ecomodded]

At some point i will do a energy history to present thread as my electrical consumption has been dropping ever so slightly over the years. About 5 years ago i put in double pane windows in all but the kitchen (small window) and both bathrooms(small windows).
I replaced three 5ft x 4 ft windows and three 5 ft by 2 ft windows. I use the equal payment plan for the electric use @ $98 a month for a two story house 1900 sq ft electric water and heat.
My daily kwh has been dropping every year for the last 7 years enough to absorb all kwh price increases and service fees increases in that last 7 years of use.
I know my power usage well which is why i am amiss at my new tactacs not having an effect with the Smart meters reading. I will get to the bottom of this or should i say the truth of the matter.

[MN Renovator]

"If you check the supported meters link here
Power Cost Monitor | Electricity Usage
you'll see a C2S which is what I have. part way down. It has a picture of the bars. Just checking mine I only have a small arrow point to the right at the moment."

Just a warning about that type of meter, I have the Black and Decker Power Monitor and it looks to be a rebranded version of that. It would chew through 2 AA's per month and at the end of the battery life, the display is supposed to say the battery is low but going through 1 exterior and 1 interior wall, the battery doesn't get low enough to say it's low and it loses signal about 25 feet away. If it's like mine, it doesn't register below 300 watts, so if you are using 100 watts, it might show 300 watts or zero depending on its mood. It also takes a minute to update since it is 'counting' the meter to give you values. The unit was about $50 but I've been disappointed as this device has been a hassle. When it was working normally, it had about 85% accuracy and read low during my heaviest energy usage months. Mine completely stopped pulling a signal from the outdoor unit last month and I tried getting support but got the run around of 'follow the instructions and call back', when I followed the instructions for resyncronizing it and changing the batteries before I called B&D to support the product and they wouldn't listen to me when I tried to tell them all the steps I ran through.

I can't recommend this type of device. A TED or something else with hall effect sensors would be better. I think I'm staying away from this sort of thing until I'm installing a solar PV system as everything else that works better is very expensive.

[ecomodded]

That is unacceptable MNRenovator, a refund is in order, or has the warranty expired, as electronics often do that.
I think you got a faulty power meter, some cheap electronics have a 17- 20% failure rate,its a crap shoot at best.
A quick look at the specs and we can see my recently purchased power cost meter is a upgraded model with better resolution and enhanced distance.
As well as new softer rubber gaskets i have read..

Your model -

Make & Model
Manufacturer: Black & Decker
Model: EM100B
Color: Silver and Black
Power: AA Alkaline Batteries (4), AA Alkaline Batteries (2) & AA Lithium Batteries (2), LR6 (4), or equivalent (not included)
Certification: FCC

Wireless Communication
Frequency: 433.92 MHz
Update Rate: Approx. every 30 seconds
Range: Up to 60 feet (20 meters) through a single external wall

Operating Temperature Range
Display: 50° F to 113° F (10° C to 45° C) (for indoor use only)
Sensor: -40° F to 140° F (-40° C to 60° C)

Performance
Minimum Power Measurement: 300W
Power Resolution: 100W
Cumulative Energy Measurement Error: < 2% for electromechanical meter; < 0.2% for electronic meter

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My model

PowerCost Monitor: bli-28000
Packaged Unit Weight: 1.7 lbs (.75kg)
Width: 8.3 in (21.1 cm)
Height: 8.5 in (21.6 cm)
Depth: 4 in (10.2 cm)
Power Requirements:
Sensor:
Standard: 2 Alkaline AA 1.5 Volt (LR6 type) batteries (included)
Extreme cold weather: 2 Lithium AA 1.5 Volt (L91 Type) batteries
Display: 2 Alkaline AA 1.5 Volt (LR6 type) batteries (included)
Communication Range:
Frequency: 433 MHz
Range: Approximately 100 feet (30 m). Subtract 15 feet (5 m) for each wall between sensor and monitor
Updates from sensor to display unit: every 30 seconds

Appliance mode button: set to calculate new load

Operating Temperature:
Display Unit: 10° C to 45° C (50° F to 113° F)
Sensor Unit: -40° C to 60° C (-40° F to 140° F)

Warranty:
One year material defects or workmanship.
Accuracy:
±1% at meter
0.1% for electronic meter
Resolution: 100w
Minimum Power Measurement: ( i do not know yet,its in the mail)
Meter Compatibility:
Compatible with most traditional electromechanical disc and smart meters

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I wish my meter had a higher resolution .1 kw or 100w resolution is not going to provide with the precision i want, for that i will buy a wall socket power meter.
The bli-28000 will provide a accurate reading of my whole house current use which i cannot currently read with my smart meter.

[MN Renovator]

I might give it a go with B&D to see if they will make good on their warranty but I was never really a fan of their products but it was the only one with a price that enticed me to buy it and there was someone on a different forum who used it and has decent things to say about it but then when I inquired with him about it, turns out he uses the same amount of electricity of double his lowest usage calendar month as I do in a year(1900kwh/trailing 12 months for me). So he has rave reviews as he found the gobs of energy he was saving when he started to use it. I feel that the work that it could do for me, it has already done. I have a good idea of my energy usage and how my appliances, as a whole, including 240v appliances my kill-a-watt can't touch like my clothes dryer and A/C use in operation. Turns out my electric clothes dryer costs less energy $$ than I thought, I've abandoned the thought of replacing it with a gas one since the one I have works well. Also even though my A/C is rated 8.5 SEER, in my usage pattern with an overnight dew point control method and the shaded pole motor replaced with an efficient PSC one, its often running at nearly 12 EER in cool weather and around 10 EER when its hot. My thoughts of replacing that are gone now too.

Oddly enough, the energy this has saved is probably going to break even with the energy I'm using with slightly less efficient appliances but I now use the appliances more efficiently, especially the A/C. I now get to keep the appliance money for when something actually breaks. Probably will wait until I'm looking at a TED or something similar to track the cumulative in/out of the house when I add solar electric. Looking at the Enphase data though, I might just skip that and take my bill compare it to PV output.

[strider3700]

Yesterday morning I found a TED 5000-C at radioworld.ca with 1 set of sensors and the remote display for $200. SHould be here in a few days. My only concern is using the powerlines to send the data to the gateway. Apparently interference and questionable stability takes place in some homes. I can probably work around it but it's a dumb idea in my mind. Just go wireless or give me the option of plugging an ethernet cable in and figureing out how to run it. I still prefer this setup to the Battery powered meter outside though. I'd hate to lose data over dead batteries.

Also the 100Watt resolution of the 28000 is pretty high for me. Only my large appliances would show up on that. The 5000 should have a resolution of a few watts.

Hopefully it arrives by tomorrow. More likely early next week though.

[Daox]

I haven't had problems with noise and my TED 5000. I do try to plug the logging unit into a circuit that isn't being used though. By doing this the meter seems very accurate.