EcoRenovator  

Go Back   EcoRenovator > Improvements > Product Reviews
Advanced Search
 


Blog 60+ Home Energy Saving Tips Recent Posts Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
Old 10-15-12, 08:33 PM   #1
strider3700
Master EcoRenovator
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Vancouver Island BC
Posts: 745
Thanks: 23
Thanked 37 Times in 30 Posts
Default Got a TED-5000



Today My new TED-5000C arrived. that's one sensor and the remote display. The G model has no display and other letters indicate the number of sensors.

I installed it in the power panel 10 minutes after it arrived. It was easy enough but I ran out and bought a new 2 pole 15 amp breaker since I had the space and was concerned about line noise. It was an easy enough install if you're comfortable working in the panel. I was going to do a pictorial install but decided in the end If you can't figure it out and know what you're doing in there you shouldn't be inside the panel. You could die if you touch the wrong thing even with the main breaker off.

Installing the software on windows was trivial but that machine never managed to find the gateway. Linux install was also pretty easy but came with no instructions just a gzip. When installed it found the gateway within 20 seconds. After that I updated the firmware in the gateway for both the display and footprints the main dashboard you monitor things with on the server.

It works. Mostly. First things up - I'm not a fan of the decision to transmit the data over the powerlines. I had to plug the gateway in on the far side of my computer room anyways due to noise on the line where the computer is. That meant I had to run a longer ethernet cable to the router then provided. I could have run the cord from the power box pretty easily and it would be 100% rock solid. I've had a few drop outs of the gateway. the longest was 35 minutes right as I was having dinner.

I'm not a fan of the footprints software. At first it looks good, but it's got some issues. The first hour that I was collecting data apparently I used 32.1 kwh in about 15 minutes. After that it reports that I dropped back to the 0.8 kwh which is much more in line with what I expect to be using hourly.... Obviously the initial data was messed up at startup. There is no way to clean it out of the system other then reset and lose all data up to the point of the reset.

Also I get billed bi-monthly. Lots and lots of billing options exist but not that one.

luckily 3rd party apps are encouraged with a nice API, so If I wanted I could write my own or just find someone else's. I wish google hadn't shut down their powermeter project.
For everyone else here with a TED or other whole house meter with web connectivity what are you using to monitor/review the data?

THings I've already discovered that I couldn't without this meter. my Heatpump draws about 2.8 kwh when running. the auxilary heater (electric furnace) kicks on when my wife turns the thermostat up 1.5 or more degrees above the current temp. It draws close to 18 kwh. My furnace fan which is on whenever the heatpump or electric furnace is on or I have it set to circulate draws 600 watts and runs for 10 minutes on circulate. I use it to push the heat from my woodstove around. The fan for the woodstove draws 40 watts according to the kill-o-watt meter, making wood the obvious winner when it comes to electric consumption and heating.

It was interesting just how high things spiked when my wife had the oven and burners and everything else going while making dinner.

I'm really looking forward to tonight to see how often the new hotwater tank is kicking on to keep the tank warm. I can compare run times to my old tank which I took readings on 18 months ago now with my home built method.

Also direct readings of the dryer is going to be great now that we're entering the perpetual rain period and my clothes line will likely be empty for awhile.

I think I'll continue to manually read the meter for awhile to see how accurate the TED is compared to it. I have no worries about my smart meter, I'm more worried about the TED dropping some readings and being out.

Energy, Inc. 5000-C TED (The Energy Detective) 5000 - Amazon.com

Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	61amHFw8gmL._SL1500_.jpg
Views:	1104
Size:	124.1 KB
ID:	4005  

Last edited by Daox; 02-11-14 at 02:35 PM..
strider3700 is offline   Reply With Quote
 


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:06 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Ad Management by RedTyger
Inactive Reminders By Icora Web Design