Smart Home Blog

Danish company Modstroem uses non-standard approach to get information about energy consumption in the its Z-Wave-based monitoring system. Instead of sensor the system includes digital camera which transmits picture from the meter to the Z-Wave Internet gateway. That gateway allows no only see the results of measurements but control all Z-Wave stuff in the home remotely.

Not sure that it’s good idea to use camera to grab data from the meter. In my opinion using the sensor makes measurement more accurate and independent from external actions such lighting, dust etc. It seems for me like a field-work but not effective solution for practice using.

Lutron demonstrates on its new site how using dimmers (and especially produced by Lutron) instead of ordinary switches can reduce the energy consumption. As result CO2 emission should be reduced as well. So, we save our environment from pollution.

To be honest using of dimmers produced by other companies gives you the same result. So, it doesn’t matter what brand you’ll choose.

The Owl is a small but useful device which allows to measure energy consumption in your home easily. It contains three parts: sensor, sender box and remote monitor. To setup the Owl just clip the sensor around the live outgoing cable. Plug the sensor cable to the sender box and activate it. After that you will see some data on the LCD display of the remote monitor. Actually it show how much electricity is being used, how the cost of electricity per hour changes and how much harmful CO2 emissions the home is producing. Using the Owl you may save up to 25% of your electricity usage – a saving that translates directly to reducing your monthly bill and households’ harmful carbon emissions.

The Owl shows a full picture for your home. But sometimes it might be useful to use something like Kill-a-Watt to know how much energy is used by specified home appliance – fridge, microwave or home theater in stand-by mode.

You can buy the portable energy monitor Own here for £49.95. If you have a multiple phase (i. e. 3-phase) installations you have to buy additional sensor (£8.95).

[via eHomeUpgrade]

Smarthome should not only help to automate some routine operations but it has to save energy as well. Here is a list of seven devices which offer you possibility to measure en energy consumption.

• Kill-a-Watt. I already wrote about that useful gadget. It should be plugged into an outlet and then an appliance should be plugged into the Kill-a-Watt. This way you’ll able to see the real-time energy consumption of that appliance.
• Elecrtisave is a portable a whole-house monitor. It contains a two parts: measurement module which transmits data to the display by radio frequency. The price of the Elecrtisave is about £50.00.
• TED (The Energy Detective) is also a portable system for whole-home energy monitoring system. Its features and price are similar to Elecrtisave – $140 USD.
• Wattson is a whole-home energy monitoring system. It’s stylish and allows to record measurement history. Just connect the display unit to the PC via USB port and use Wittson software. The price of the Wattson is £125.00 including software.
• PowerCost Monitor is also a whole-home energy monitoring system. It also includes two parts: a sensor and a display. The PowerCost Monitor doesn’t give a possibility to connect to the PC. Instead of than it shows pick consumption for the last 24 hours, emulator of outside meter disk, current and total spent amount and outside temperature. The price of the PowerCost Monitor is $135.00 USD.
• EML 2020 is another a whole-home and individual appliance energy monitoring. Included software and USB cable for computer tracking of data it allows to measure the power consumption of individual 110/120V plug-in appliances or the total energy consumption of your home. For advanced features you should pay $629.00.
• Home Joule is an energy monitor of new generation. It not only shows an energy consumption but it also calculate its cost according to current energy price. That price is received from the regional market where you live or (if available) from advanced metering in your space. The Home Joule is not released yet. So, there is no any words about its price and availability.

I already posted about about gadget Kill-A-Watt which can be plugged between outlet and an appliance and measure how much energy the appliance takes. TED 1000 does similar work but for whole house. Actually, it’s a simple home energy monitor that allows you to see electricity usage in real-time. The TED 1000 includes 2 basic components – a transmitter (should be installed in your main circuit) and a display unit which can be plugged into any outlet in the home. So, There are no wires to run. Data is transmitted over existing wiring in your home every 1 second, so no matter where you plug TED’s display in, it receives the data – in a real time.

The TED 1000 has a big LCD display where it shows current voltage, current wattage (KWH), peak for month, peak day, KWH today, KWH month, KWH Month To Date, KWH Projected. It also has the ability to show real-time cost. But you should program the rates into the TED. Additionally, device features serial port. So when API will be published it can be included into your home automation system.

With a price $139.95 the TED 1000 can help you save up to $50 per month (according to mavromatic’s worlds). Moreover saving the energy you make our planet more green. Sure one person cannot clean whole world but together we can.

[via Mavromatic]