What Power Monitor to get?

Other Devices & Integrations Power Management
1

I’m initially looking to find out how much energy usage my Spa is using. Then the AC unit. Then it will likely be a whole-house monitor.

Thoughts on the best, and most cost effective, monitor for this? Id like to use it to log and track trends over time… but I can pull the data into excel if it is just basic.

thanks

2

Check your account on your utility company’s website. If they allow you to attach a smart device to your account(e.g. Eagle Gateway), that’s the way to go due to the simplicity. Only newer meters allow these devices.

3

If you eventually want to go whole house, go with the Brultech GEM (Green Eye Monitor). Don’t spend your money on a super simple solution like the Aeon HEM, save that money. The GEM is relatively cheap (You can buy base unit, and add inexpensive current transformers to additional loads as you expand. It interfaces to the Vera to allow scenes like, If TV circuit is drawing less than 50 watts, turn off the subwoffer. Initially you can view real time data on your up to 32 channels on the GEM, and have it send to a free service like SEG (Smart Energy Group) for logging and graphical analysis. you can add Brultechs 5 watt logging machine, called the Dashbox for ultimate logging / analysis

4

Additional information on GEM / DB from Brultech
I don’t work for them, but have been an early adopter of their products
Cant say enough good things about the company, their support, their continued upgrades, and their user community
…Barry

Here is a link to a GEM / DB install. This person went Insteon, I have replicated just about everything he has done with Vera3

http://www.brultech.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=929

5

I also have a Brultech GEM and went insteon. I have the ISY994i controlling my insteon network. The link the last poster posted in the gold stabdard for reference for brultech - Teken is awesome and so is Ben over at Brultech.

I have the GEM sending data to my vera using the brultech plugin, got it working last night (only had the vera a week), data looks ok so far but a few things are odd so I need to do more investigation. For example while the device dashboard clearly shows the meter devices and the power they are using (just like on zwave devices that report usage) the data is not surfaced up into ERGY.

Let me know if I can help, I am only one step ahead but might be able to shave off some off your research time.

6

I just installed the TED Pro Home and have to say I am loving it so far. You can start out with the basic whole home monitoring for $299 then move up to individual circuits for $149 more. No software needed to install as it has software built into the device and can be accessed with just a web browser. I am also using bidgely for android for remote monitoring. Currently I only have the whole house monitoring setup, but plan on purchasing the ‘spider’ adapter for individual circuits.

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk

7

[quote=“Aaron, post:1, topic:184001”]I’m initially looking to find out how much energy usage my Spa is using. Then the AC unit. Then it will likely be a whole-house monitor.

Thoughts on the best, and most cost effective, monitor for this? Id like to use it to log and track trends over time… but I can pull the data into excel if it is just basic.

thanks[/quote]

This is very subjective. At times, I want to know how much energy each device in my home is using, things like the washer/dryer, fridge, etc. Other times, I really don’t care and would rather know how much energy the whole house is using. I often focus more on this and I can usually tell approximately how much my dryer is using or other appliance once I hear them kick in as my Watts will suddenly spike.

I use the Aeon HEM and am quite happy with it. I plug its info into datamine and also send it off to SEG but I find I use data mine and just Vera’s device view to get an idea of how much I’m using. It’s not the most glamorous and I’ll admit, there’s so much more that can be done however for my needs, the HEM was a simple plug 'n play and I was off to the races.

The major power hogs in my home are my server room, my entertainment unit, stove/oven, washer/dryer/fridge/dishwasher and my furnace/airconditioner. It’ll be nice to know how much each of these use but as I’m not the only person in the house I can only effect positive change on someone else’s usage so much. I know the baseline for when no one’s home and all devices are “static” vs when everyone’s home.

You’ve got a few options here but again, it’s very subjective. I do like the pictures of the GEM and its reporting functions but in for me, knowing how much power my stove is using daily won’t stop people from cooking. It will however make me think more of the $$$ leaving my pocket :slight_smile:

8

Guys great info! Is there a comparison of the GEM vs TED? In both features and cost?

thx!