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Home Energy PowerCost Monitor
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Product Details
| Category: | Electronics |
| Label/Manufacturer: | BlueLine Innovations |
| Model: | BLI-28100 |
| UPC: | 094922756299 |
Product Description
As unobtrusive as a small electric clock, the PowerCost Monitor is a powerful real-time direct feedback display device that measures home electricity usage. It tells at a glance, in real-time, how much electricity your home is using in dollars and cents and in kW. Domestic energy usage studies have demonstrated that real-time feedback yields energy savings anywhere between 10 and 20 percent. The savings at the high end of this range are realized when a tabletop energy display device, such as the PowerCost Monitor, is used. The PowerCost Monitor technology consists of two discrete functional units: A detection unit, known as the sensor unit, is affixed to an existing household utility meter with a simple ring clamp. The sensor unit is compatible with standard North American digital and electromechanical meter types. This is the only component of the PowerCost Monitor that will be in direct physical contact with the utility's meter. The clamp mechanism allows it to be attached to the outside of the meter glass It can also be quickly attached and detached without making any changes to the existing meter. The display unit, located inside the home, receives a wireless signal from the transmitter and displays the consumption information in real time and in dollars and cents. Other information is also displayed such as time and outside temperature. Considerations before you order: The PowerCost Monitor uses a wireless signal (433 MHz) to read the information on your utility meter. This means that your utility meter must be located next to your home or within 30 meters (100 ft) of your home. The PowerCost Monitor can be easily used in a single detached dwelling, a duplex dwelling, or a row or town house. The PowerCost Monitor will not work with net metering applications such as wind and solar power, or on a business meter that uses demand pricing.Product Features
* See real-time electricity bills: how much is your energy consumption costing at that moment?* See the effect of turning appliances off around the house, find out how much you're saving
* See the total amount of electricity you're using
Customer Reviews
Rated
on 2010-02-28We got one of these some time ago, and installed the outdoor unit outside on the electric meter (as it needs to be set up). It does provide real-time tracking of your electrical usage, though on our large home we have so many cycling motors in heating systems and refrigerators and such that you could not practically test turning on an off a light and see how it changed the load.
The real weakness of the system is that the sending unit mounts outside on the electrical meter, and while it appears weatherized with seals on the battery compartment and reset switch, we had a heavy rain after a month after installing it, and the seals didn't seem to actually keep the electronic dry. The unit died from the water exposure (and didn't recover once dried out). So while it was pretty neat, it only lasted a month, so I'd avoid this unless your meter is well shielded from rain.
In retrospect I'd suggest looking at the competing products that mount entirely indoors at the circuit panel, as anything less weatherproof than the electrical meter itself just isn't going to last.
Andrew
Rated
on 2009-10-01the unit began to drop communications.
The unit lived up the positive reviews and worked flawlessly for two weeks but after a week of high humidity in the Dallas area the unit began to work erratically. I did everything changed batteries, and finally brought the unit inside until the weather improved.
The unis was never directly rained on our meter is under the gable just the ambient humidity affected the unit in some way.
I finally was able to get the unit back online but the following day the same happened.
I spent a lot of time with the Level II tech at Blueline. I have no weather stations, no interference of any kind (the unit worked perfectly for two weeks).
I emailed photos of my meter and the meter box to Blueline this went on for a week back and forth with emails from the tech asking for more information I finally decided to get a refund on the unit.
If you do use one of these devices you are hooked it sheds new light as to really how much energy a common house uses.
It does take anywhere from 20-30 seconds to respond to changes in energy use as some have mentioned.
I was having withdrawal symptoms while the unit was down.
I ended up going with TED (The energy Detective 1000 series) this is a simple unit to install and is rock solid in operation with a feature rich information set with a very nice display! The unit displays usage in real time updates are updated within one to two seconds.
I am one happy camper save the batteries go with TED.
Rated
on 2009-09-10I bought this unit with high hopes of getting a handle on my electricity usage. I called my electric company (Southern California Edison) to ask a few questions about how to interpret my electric bill. I was shocked when they told me that this unit was illegal and that if I installed it, they would remove it and throw it away (off premises) at the next reading. They consider this tampering. The manufacturer was very helpful and even called SCE for me. Unfortunatly, they were only able to verify that I could not lawfully use the product. So check first! I ended up getting a different product called: T.E.D, The Energy Detective. It monitors instantly since you clamp it directly onto your electrical cables. It did require a visit from my electrician to hook up though ($$).
Rated
on 2009-08-04This meter provides a way to read what your electric meter is reading, day by day or hour by hour. It provides for detailed entry of the intricacies of your billing scheme, including different rates for different times and over-amounts used. You can turn on your electric stove, air conditioning, any large consumption electrical appliance and see not only how much current it's drawing, but how much it's costing you to run per hour according to your billing rates.
Only 2 shortcomings: It takes 30 to 90 seconds to register a change in consumption, so by the time you're checking consumption of central air, a refrigerator may have cycled on to distort the readings. And secondly, the consumption wattage is in chunks of 100 watts, so you can't note minor change in usage.
But otherwise, the PowerCost is an intriguing instrument for a fair price.
--Mike
Rated
on 2009-06-16I think this would be a good product for some people. Here in Maine we have a strange Schlumberger electric meter which makes it very hard to get the sender to work. We got good advice from the manufacturer, but it just wouldn't work with our meter. You probably would have better luck. Our meter has a plate blocking the area where the spinning disk could easily be read.
On the plus side, our money was returned cheerfully.
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