Malcolm Schweizer
12-21-2018, 10:59 AM
I found this little gem yesterday and decided to try it out. It's a monitor that hooks up to your incoming line from your electrical meter, and it measures how many kWh you use real-time, and you can input your $/kWh and it tells real-time your expected daily spend at current level of use.
https://efergy.com/electricity-monitors/wireless-energy-monitor-elite-classic/
It was a gamble, but I actually got this at a place that sells close-out merchandise, so I only paid $30 instead of the normal $100+. After using it, however, I would gladly pay $100 for this thing. I live in the land of expensive electricity, so for me just turning off a fan is saving me about $0.75 per day. Here are some interesting things I found:
A regular toaster puts out HUGE amounts of power. I expected it, but it was more than I expected
I have only two rooms left without LED's- the kitchen, and a closet- those have halogen bulbs. Three halogen bulbs are costing me $0.70 per day (*assuming I ran them all day, which of course I don't, but this is easier for me to visualize than KwH.)
There is a big difference in energy use from one ceiling fan to another. One is double the energy use of the other.
My A/C would cost me nearly $25 a day, which was no surprise- we already knew that.
These figures are at $0.38/kWh, which is actually our base rate without fuel surcharge and other add-on charges. With all those, we pay closer to about $0.45/kWh, but I used $0.38 so I can compare to the base rate which doesn't fluctuate. I have strong suspicions about my bill because after they installed a smart meter, my power use supposedly doubled. It's not just me- LOTS of people on island are seeing this, and we strongly suspect the power company is cheating us.
This thing allows you to set any voltage- not sure the max, but at least to 240V. It works with single or double leg power input. It comes with two pickups that clamp to your incoming wire(s). I had two wires, so I used both. This one is single phase, but they do have one that works with 3 phase. It lets you set all sorts of variables- you set your own $/kWh, and you can also set a variable rate if you live where they charge a different rate for day/night use. You set the date, time, voltage, rate, number of rates you want to monitor, and even an alarm that goes off if you use over whatever kWh you set it at. (I am not using that function.) As an added bonus, it has the temperature and humidity, which seems to be pretty accurate. (I'm a weather geek, so I track these things daily.)
I have no affiliation with this company- I just think it's a really cool tool and thought I'd pass it on. I can turn on a light and real-time see the power usage and estimated cost per month or hour. By using this, we have figured out that we can turn off certain fans and save quite a bit. This is also going to help me figure out my power needs for the solar array that is in my near future.
399273
https://efergy.com/electricity-monitors/wireless-energy-monitor-elite-classic/
It was a gamble, but I actually got this at a place that sells close-out merchandise, so I only paid $30 instead of the normal $100+. After using it, however, I would gladly pay $100 for this thing. I live in the land of expensive electricity, so for me just turning off a fan is saving me about $0.75 per day. Here are some interesting things I found:
A regular toaster puts out HUGE amounts of power. I expected it, but it was more than I expected
I have only two rooms left without LED's- the kitchen, and a closet- those have halogen bulbs. Three halogen bulbs are costing me $0.70 per day (*assuming I ran them all day, which of course I don't, but this is easier for me to visualize than KwH.)
There is a big difference in energy use from one ceiling fan to another. One is double the energy use of the other.
My A/C would cost me nearly $25 a day, which was no surprise- we already knew that.
These figures are at $0.38/kWh, which is actually our base rate without fuel surcharge and other add-on charges. With all those, we pay closer to about $0.45/kWh, but I used $0.38 so I can compare to the base rate which doesn't fluctuate. I have strong suspicions about my bill because after they installed a smart meter, my power use supposedly doubled. It's not just me- LOTS of people on island are seeing this, and we strongly suspect the power company is cheating us.
This thing allows you to set any voltage- not sure the max, but at least to 240V. It works with single or double leg power input. It comes with two pickups that clamp to your incoming wire(s). I had two wires, so I used both. This one is single phase, but they do have one that works with 3 phase. It lets you set all sorts of variables- you set your own $/kWh, and you can also set a variable rate if you live where they charge a different rate for day/night use. You set the date, time, voltage, rate, number of rates you want to monitor, and even an alarm that goes off if you use over whatever kWh you set it at. (I am not using that function.) As an added bonus, it has the temperature and humidity, which seems to be pretty accurate. (I'm a weather geek, so I track these things daily.)
I have no affiliation with this company- I just think it's a really cool tool and thought I'd pass it on. I can turn on a light and real-time see the power usage and estimated cost per month or hour. By using this, we have figured out that we can turn off certain fans and save quite a bit. This is also going to help me figure out my power needs for the solar array that is in my near future.
399273