Home Energy Monitor Recommendations

[EngineeringFI]

I was curious if anyone was using a home energy monitoring device that they would recommend? I'm looking for something that I can install into my breaker box that will give me readings of real time electricity usage, preferably on a display I can mount somewhere convenient. I know in an MMM article he mentions the Efergy True Power Meter, I just wanted to see what other options are out there.

My utility company does have an app that I have been using, but recently the information on hourly power usage stopped working, and I only get a running total for the month :(

[Systems101]

So this is potentially sideways to the answer you want, but there's kind of more than one way to evaluate energy use, so here's my 2c:

I don't have a whole house monitor.  They don't serve a function for me so I don't bother.  YMMV

However, understanding power use is important.  For that, I use a $20 Kill-A-Watt.

Note: You may also find a current clamp useful if you are trying to understand usage by things that are a pain to unplug or run on 220V where the "Kill-A-Watt" won't work.  (I borrowed one at one point to get a good power understanding of my fridge, dryer and AC)

Now let me explain *why* I don't think a whole home monitor is useful: To make a change, you actually need to understand where your usage is.  That means you have to measure it at a granular enough level to be able to make decisions/changes.  Personally, I don't find a whole house meter actionable. (Think about the reactions on the "Case Study" forum when people aren't specific on their spending... folks can tell someone's hair is on fire, but can't really help... ).  I like the "Kill-A-Watt" because I can isolate one object at a time... very specific usage data so I can perform a specific cost/benefit analysis.

[deborah]

Often you can borrow kill-a-watts from your local library. A couple of years there was a thread about them, and just about everyone (no matter if they were Australia, Canada or the US) could get them from their library.

[sokoloff]

Kill-a-watt is good for point of use measurements for plug-in 120VAC loads.

If you want whole house load, I went the route of using a Raspberry Pi and RTL-SDR radio monitoring of power using the same broadcasts that your utility company (probably) reads by driving a car slowly around the neighborhood once a month. If you have a meter that broadcasts usage on the ISM-band (most do), you can use this type of project. It's a little computer DIY, but none of it is inside the panel, and was the easiest "go get some open source and compile it" experience I've had.

Start here:
https://hackaday.com/2014/02/25/using-sdr-to-read-your-smart-meter/
http://bemasher.net/rtlamr/
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/monitoring-house-power-usage-using-rtl-sdr/

Keywords you can use to google other info: SDR (Software Defined Radio) and AMR (Automatic Meter Reading)

My system can read my electric, water (x2), and gas meters all with a $35 RPi, $10 SDR dongle, and $20 or so of other parts I had lying around anyway (Pi case and USB power supply).

It's obviously a tinkerer kit, not a finished consumer product.

[EngineeringFI]

So this is potentially sideways to the answer you want, but there's kind of more than one way to evaluate energy use, so here's my 2c:

I don't have a whole house monitor.  They don't serve a function for me so I don't bother.  YMMV

However, understanding power use is important.  For that, I use a $20 Kill-A-Watt.

Note: You may also find a current clamp useful if you are trying to understand usage by things that are a pain to unplug or run on 220V where the "Kill-A-Watt" won't work.  (I borrowed one at one point to get a good power understanding of my fridge, dryer and AC)

Now let me explain *why* I don't think a whole home monitor is useful: To make a change, you actually need to understand where your usage is.  That means you have to measure it at a granular enough level to be able to make decisions/changes.  Personally, I don't find a whole house meter actionable. (Think about the reactions on the "Case Study" forum when people aren't specific on their spending... folks can tell someone's hair is on fire, but can't really help... ).  I like the "Kill-A-Watt" because I can isolate one object at a time... very specific usage data so I can perform a specific cost/benefit analysis.

I do have a "kill-a-watt" style meter already and have used it to get useful information for individual device power usage. Although it's a bit difficult to get power usage information on certain things, like ceiling fans. For me the whole-home type meter is actionable because I opted for an electricity pricing plan which scales the price per kWh by the time of day. Outside of the "peak times" the price per kWh is cut in half. However during peak times, I'm subject to a peak demand charge which is calculated from the maximum number of kWh drawn in a 1-hour window during the peak times (6-9am and 6-9pm during this time of year). So during peak times, it would be helpful to monitor the sum of all electricity usage in my house to keep the demand charge low. Yes, I could mentally add-up all my power users to estimate the total draw during this time, and that's what I've been doing up until this point.

[EngineeringFI]

Kill-a-watt is good for point of use measurements for plug-in 120VAC loads.

If you want whole house load, I went the route of using a Raspberry Pi and RTL-SDR radio monitoring of power using the same broadcasts that your utility company (probably) reads by driving a car slowly around the neighborhood once a month. If you have a meter that broadcasts usage on the ISM-band (most do), you can use this type of project. It's a little computer DIY, but none of it is inside the panel, and was the easiest "go get some open source and compile it" experience I've had.

Start here:
https://hackaday.com/2014/02/25/using-sdr-to-read-your-smart-meter/
http://bemasher.net/rtlamr/
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/monitoring-house-power-usage-using-rtl-sdr/

Keywords you can use to google other info: SDR (Software Defined Radio) and AMR (Automatic Meter Reading)

My system can read my electric, water (x2), and gas meters all with a $35 RPi, $10 SDR dongle, and $20 or so of other parts I had lying around anyway (Pi case and USB power supply).

It's obviously a tinkerer kit, not a finished consumer product.

Awesome, thanks for showing me this, I'll check it out!

[Lulee]

This system highlighted in a This Old House episode seems like what you're looking for https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/future-house-smarter-home-electrical-metering  As I recall the episode, it "learns" about the systems in your house as it goes along and can, eventually, differentiate between the dryer, the stove, and such.  Not sure if it could tell that a spike on a circuit was from a large lamp being turned on versus a fan or not.

[wawot1]

This system highlighted in a This Old House episode seems like what you're looking for https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/future-house-smarter-home-electrical-metering  As I recall the episode, it "learns" about the systems in your house as it goes along and can, eventually, differentiate between the dryer, the stove, and such.  Not sure if it could tell that a spike on a circuit was from a large lamp being turned on versus a fan or not.

Second this - this product seems exactly what you're looking for....very cool

[NextTime]

Sounds very cool.

[BudgetSlasher]

I was given a Sense energy monitor as a Christmas gift

The plus side: You get real time total home usage and records of day to day.

The downside (s): You cannot teach it any item (for example turning one thing on and off repeatedly).In my experience, its "learning" and identifying items doesn't live up to the hype; it has identified things piecemeal (for example my my washing machine was ID'ed as a motor, a heating element, and a pump), it has identified items that I cannot track down (a I have 8 items ID'ed as "heat", but I don't have that much heat). It has not identified things that have run literally everyday since it was installed (it has not ID'ed my boiler, my central heat fan, or our pellet insert). It hasn't ID'ed things that we told it we own (for example our ID). It has lost things that it once reliably ID'ed (the space heater by my master shower used to be recognized every time it turned on, not it is "other"). It combines items into one thing (there is a 3/6kw space heater in my workshop that I have switched, it shows up as running when I am not in the shop). It has yet to learn a single lighting circuit.

Also, if you have odd items they might not be ID'ed. The system uses some cloud based algorithm to ID items. We have a hybrid water heater (run in heat pump only mode), a ECM central heating fan, a full sized heat pump dryer, an induction cooktop, and probably some other less common items in US homes. Not a one of them less common items have been ID'ed.

[Cadman]

I've been satisfied with the Emporia Vue. It mounts in your breaker box, monitors both L1 and L2, plus 8 individual circuits. Real time and aggregated use is via an app on your phone, or export to excel. Very handy for 240V load monitoring and a bargain compared to Sense.

[trollwithamustache]

I'll also vote for the kill-a-watt monitor. I've been moving mine around the house measuring stuff and its been entertaining for a few years now.

[lutorm]

I'm using Curb energy monitors, two actually. They have a bunch of current clamps you put on the panel circuits and you get real-time monitoring of all of them, including production circuits like PV or batteries. This means you have to be comfortable working on electrical stuff to install them yourself, but it's not particularly hard. They have the advantage over the "learning" ones that there's no question about what you're monitoring. I'm quite happy with it.

[BudgetSlasher]

This system highlighted in a This Old House episode seems like what you're looking for https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/future-house-smarter-home-electrical-metering  As I recall the episode, it "learns" about the systems in your house as it goes along and can, eventually, differentiate between the dryer, the stove, and such.  Not sure if it could tell that a spike on a circuit was from a large lamp being turned on versus a fan or not.

Second this - this product seems exactly what you're looking for....very cool

I am having some issues with video right now, but jumping around it the user interface looks like the sense energy monitor, which is what I have.

See my earlier post. In short I am underwhelmed by it in my house.