[Vorix]

Just got one of these from Eon today, having moved to a capped tariff and this was a freebie.

Quite interesting to see the impact of turning on various devices around the house.

Something else interesting is that the monitor has an ethernet port in the bottom of it - but nothing in the documentation says what it's for. Anyone else got one? I might get around to plugging it in and seeing what happens, although without any software to access it, it may prove a pointless exercise.

[dekoded]

I was trying to find some info on these but couldn't find anything, I'm not with Eon however I thought maybe someone who was could get me one!

In the end I got the Eco-Eye monitor which I assume does the same thing, I looked at a couple but the Eco-Eye is made in the UK and they plan to release a PC add on which allows data to be uploaded to a PC, it cost me around £40.

[newbe1478]

Does it have off-line web access?

[Vorix]

Haven't got round to trying it yet. The meter is currently sitting on a shelf in the kitchen scaring the life out of us every time we turn something on.

With the hob, oven, dishwasher & iron going it shows monthly costs heading for £500

[robh2002]

Originally Posted by Vorix

Haven't got round to trying it yet. The meter is currently sitting on a shelf in the kitchen scaring the life out of us every time we turn something on.

With the hob, oven, dishwasher & iron going it shows monthly costs heading for £500

...anything generating heat has a tendency to do that!

[Bruce_]

More info on the device:

http://www.currentcost.com/

http://currentcost.wetpaint.com/

Can be bought for £28 from eco gadget shop

Or about £30 from eBay

You can connect this device to your PC, and then log/graph the data.

[majorstare]

[QUOTE=Vorix;7238878]Just got one of these from Eon today, having moved to a capped tariff and this was a freebie.[QUOTE]

Is this a general freebie? I recently swithced as a new customer to there fixed tarrif for gas and electric?

[Bruce_]

It's provided on one of their tariffs. Energy Saver. It's not available now that they have put up prices. But might be worth a phone call and ask about it.

[Vorix]

Well spotted - looks like there's a whole sub-culture forming around this device and connecting it up.

[majorstare]

I'll make the car to Eon, if not, if buy one. I can then prove to the wife and 2x kids they are costing me money!

Is it hard wired from the meter cupboard?

[Bruce_]

There's a clip that goes onto one of the cables coming from your meter. Easy to fit. The clip is wired to a small box, which communicates with the meter using RF (wireless). So it shouldn't be a problem to use.

There's an install video here

[nheather]

Anyone know whether the PC Connection is available now or in the future.

I've been on the CurrentCost website and it mentions an optional serial cable.

It also shows a picture taster of 'software to come'.

So was wondering what sort of connection it is - is it really serial or is it USB?

Does it work today?

Cheers,

Nigel

Done some research myself and as far as I can see

1 - The interface connector is either an USB or a RJ45 depending on what build you get
2 - Regardless of the connector the signal sent is a stream of RS232 9600 baud TTL levels representing XML
3 - Cables are not readily avaialble in the UK. Not a straight forward passive cable, needs some active conversion. You can build your own with some electronics knowledge.
4 - There is no formal software available - you will need to write your own or find someone that already has.

[Bruce_]

The IBM guys who have been using the monitor made their own cable. There's instructions on how to make one here

Or you can buy one from CurrentCost now.

active data cable which is £7.95 each plus VAT and carriage (£1.50). Cheques for £10.87 should be made payable to Current Cost Ltd and sent to:

Current Cost Ltd
1 The Mews
Wharf Street
Godalming
Surrey
GU7 1NN

tel: 01483 527993
mob: 07855029770

The software isn't available yet, from CurrentCost. But htey did tell me it would be available "mid to late August". So I'm guessing it will be soon.

[ad47uk]

Originally Posted by Vorix

Just got one of these from Eon today, having moved to a capped tariff and this was a freebie.

Quite interesting to see the impact of turning on various devices around the house.

It may be interesting for a while and I expect it is a great gimmick for a while, but how long will you use it before the display ends up unplugged and stuck in a cupboard somewhere?

I take it that it is these sort of meters that we are all suppose to have at some point if the energy companies decide to spend the money.

No way would I buy one, I would never get the cost back.

Reminds me, I must send back those Low energy bulbs my energy supplier sent me.

[johntheexpat]

Originally Posted by ad47uk

Reminds me, I must send back those Low energy bulbs my energy supplier sent me.

If you give them to someone who would use them, you will save on P&P.

[ad47uk]

Originally Posted by johntheexpat

If you give them to someone who would use them, you will save on P&P.

No P&P, Atlantic kindly put a free post return address in the box. Most people I know either don'y use them or they got some already.

Anyway, sending them back may prove a point that not eveyone likes the things .

Sending something like the energy monitor may have been a better idea, but as I said above, I expect most of these monitors will end up chuck in a cupbard somewhere.

[General Skanky]

Not so.

The people who end up with units like that are actually interested in doing something about their energy usage.

If you are a 'cupboard chucker', then it's unlikely you'd have gone for one in the first place.

[ad47uk]

Originally Posted by General Skanky

Not so.

The people who end up with units like that are actually interested in doing something about their energy usage.

If you are a 'cupboard chucker', then it's unlikely you'd have gone for one in the first place.

Not if some energy companies are givin them away. Granted if you are going to by one then you will use it, well for a while and the novelty will wear off.

I thought the government wanted us all to have these meters at some point, not sure if it will happen, considering the price. Eon is about the only energy company giving them away, others are givin us 50p bulbs. Still at least my energy company are cheaper tha most of the others.


I would love Vorix to come back in say six months or so and see if he is still using the meter,

[Vorix]

I can't guarantee that I'll be back in 6 months but the device is currently sitting on a shelf in the kitchen in plain view and I certainly look at it several times a day.

As I said I an earlier post (and I'll ignore the sarcastic comment from the follow on poster) I don't think you realise just how much energy all the devices you use without thinking actually consume.

The attached screenshot shows our consumption with the dishwasher going, a slow cooker and the PC - run this lot (or the equivalent) full time and it'll cost £13 a day.

I also want to clarify a few things in earlier posts about these sort of energy monitoring devices versus true smart meters.

The principle of smart meters is that they have a constant data connection back to the provider and have the potential to offer dynamic tariffs that encourage customers to spread their energy usage and reduce demand spikes. It's not so different from the Economy 7 concept except that you should be able to see when it is actually cheaper to switch something on. For most people they switch on their dishwasher when it's full, regardless of time. With everyone doing this after dinner at 8pm , it means more generating capacity has to be spun up. If they can show people that switching it on after 10pm will cost 20% less then everyone benefits. This can be further advanced through integration with home automation systems, so that you can configure the dishwasher to only come on when the cost falls below a certain amount per unit.

The challenge is that no-one will invest in the installation of the meters because people can switch suppliers so easily. Also, they need to agree some common standards and have the necessary backend infrastructure to support it all. Unfortunately this means that the government need to do some joined-up thinking to develop a strategy to work around this - not something the current lot are famed for.

[ad47uk]

Originally Posted by Vorix

I can't guarantee that I'll be back in 6 months but the device is currently sitting on a shelf in the kitchen in plain view and I certainly look at it several times a day.

You look at it a few times a day as it is a new toy, ok you may keep on looking at it, but I think if everyone had one of these devices the majority would not bother with it after a while.

As I said I an earlier post (and I'll ignore the sarcastic comment from the follow on poster) I don't think you realise just how much energy all the devices you use without thinking actually consume.

The attached screenshot shows our consumption with the dishwasher going, a slow cooker and the PC - run this lot (or the equivalent) full time and it'll cost £13 a day.

You got two items there that do use a lot of power, a slow cooker and a Dish washer. I have none of these, but I do have a coffee maker and bread maker, both I use a lot. then you don't have the slow cooker or the dish washer on all day.

I also want to clarify a few things in earlier posts about these sort of energy monitoring devices versus true smart meters.

The principle of smart meters is that they have a constant data connection back to the provider and have the potential to offer dynamic tariffs that encourage customers to spread their energy usage and reduce demand spikes. It's not so different from the Economy 7 concept except that you should be able to see when it is actually cheaper to switch something on. For most people they switch on their dishwasher when it's full, regardless of time. With everyone doing this after dinner at 8pm , it means more generating capacity has to be spun up. If they can show people that switching it on after 10pm will cost 20% less then everyone benefits. This can be further advanced through integration with home automation systems, so that you can configure the dishwasher to only come on when the cost falls below a certain amount per unit.

I know one of the point of having these meters is to save money, but the other point so we produce less CO2, if people use their dish washers after a certain time, then they are still producing the same CO2.

The best way is just to get rid of the dishwasher, try washing up by hand, it is easy.
I only use my washing machine twice a week, anything small I will wash by hand.

The challenge is that no-one will invest in the installation of the meters because people can switch suppliers so easily. Also, they need to agree some common standards and have the necessary backend infrastructure to support it all. Unfortunately this means that the government need to do some joined-up thinking to develop a strategy to work around this - not something the current lot are famed for.

I thought the government have done something about this, by allowing utility companies to lock people into a long contract, so that they can get back the money that these meters costs? I don't think that is fair mind you, I like to shop around, so why should I be locked into a long contract? I tend to avoid long contracts and until recently I always went for monthly contracts with my internet provider.

I think it will be many years before we start seeing smart meters rolled out in any great amount. TBH, I think that is a good thing, I don't want anyone to tell me that I am using too much energy, a meter like what you got is maybe the best way to go.

don't get me wrong, I need to save money, now with energy prices going up the way they are, which is why I am using my laptop more than my main computer and why I turning things off that is not needed, but I will do it my way.


Good luck with your meter,

The interesting thing about these meters is how much power you use when (apparently) nothing is switched on. My fairly new Panasonic microwave draws 25 watts to run the clock! I always switch it off at the wall now. And computers with peripherals left on are another guzzler. Switching off the computer doesn't turn off those 'brick' type power supplies for the monitor, printer, speakers and etc. I didn't realise how much power was wasted 'till I went round switching off appliances. Now we have a habit of switching things off until needed. I know I should have learned to do this anyway, but these meters do teach a lesson. I shall pass mine on to someone else soon.

[ChristianBeccy]

OK, here's an interesting slant for you.

We bought an Owl Energy Monitor after doing a fair bit of research. We paid £25 for it and were pleased with it. Piece of cake to install and set up.

I happened to notice that my Mother had received one of these E-ON freebies, but had not started it up (being a technophobe). So, I connected hers up for her. I was amazed to see that it suggested that her house was 'idling' at a mere 90 watts. I was at that time sitting in a room lit by 3 40watt bulbs and these weren't the only things on at that time.

So, I brought it home with me and ran it side-by-side with my Owl.

I turns out that the E-ON monitor is certainly inaccurate.

With everything switched off and both monitors reading zero, I turned on known appliances and watched the comparitive values.

I have 4 50 watt GU10 bulbs in my kitchen - The owl said I was using 0.20kw (or 200watts) with just these turned on, the E-ON monitor claimed only 140watts. I tried this with various rooms around the house and the Owl consistently claimed what I knew to be right, but the E-ON monitor was always short by around 25%. So, do we believe the monitor or the values stated on the bulbs?

Then as I began to power the house up again, I noticed that the E-ON's 'inaccuracy' was exponential, with the deviation growing to as much as 500watts at 3.0kw usage, which further re-inforced the percentage inaccuracy that I had noted in the lower values.

I'd be interested to know if anyone else has been able to completely turn everything off and carry out the kind of precise monitoring that I have?

I did notice that, in the E-ON's favour, that it reads down to 10 watts, where the Owl seems to only go down to 0.5kw (50watts), which I think is a bit of a pain, although that doesn't mean that it only operates in 50watt increments.

On the consumption side of things, I was shocked that the biggest consumer of 'stand-by' power was our Tannoy Sub, taking almost 25 watts on standby (according to the under-reading E-ON), closely followed by our 32" LG LCD, sucking 10-15 watts.

[Hitby]

I've just recieved one of these and I'm not sure I've got it attached to the correct cable. We have an old fusebox with strange wiring. I've tried putting it around the main pipe but it only reads about 20watts. when I put it round one of the wires coming from the fuse box it reads 721watts. That's with power to the cooker (clock), microwave (clock), bedroom clock, amp, sub, plasma, ntl box on and a couple of other things on standby. Does this seem right? If I turn off the tv/amp/sub/ntl then it reads 250 ish watts?

edit: found the manual so it is connected to the correct cable. What price have people set it to? my electricity is 27p kwh for the first 900 units then 11.6 after that?

[nbaker]

Originally Posted by Hitby

What price have people set it to? my electricity is 27p kwh for the first 900 units then 11.6 after that?

I'm not sure how to set up price either.

My prices are 25.67p for first 225 kWh per qtr and then 10.93p for additional kWh, so would I just enter 10.93p ??

[Hitby]

I decided to set mine to 27p in the end. Either way it's only a guide I guess and its the amount of energy that's informative. I'd rather overestimate the cost than underestimate

[drykid]

I just got mine today; I got it more out of curiosity than anything else, but it's actually quite fascinating to watch it change each time you turn things on and off. I had the same problem with not knowing which rate to program in - the one for the first 225 kw/hr per quarter (20.77p) in my case, or the rate for additional units (11.56p.) In the end I figured that since 225 kw / hrs at 20.77p works out at £47, and since my quarterly electricity bill is closer to £150 most of the time, I figured that the majority of my electricity is charged at the lower rate and therefore it made more sense to program that one in. I do realise I'm underestimating it that way, but at least I can put an exact figure on how much it's being underestimated by (£20 a quarter, i.e. the difference between the two ways of calculating the first 225 kw/hr.) If I did it the other way around it would be harder to put a figure on the overestimated amount.

Anyway, it's annoying that E-on couldn't supply a monitor that allows you to enter the actual rates they charge and thereby avoid the problem. I still think it's a useful device though.

[robh2002]

I suppose I agree that the ability to enter two rates would be useful as most people will use it and see it as a method of saving money rather than energy per se, even if they are actually the same thing. Still, it serves its purpose - any one who reduces their weekly kWh usage will save...

I've certainly saved a lot with mine and continue to see methods of saving - nearly two years after getting it. Recently I found my washing machine drew 20W when the front panel switch was 'off' and only 1W with it was 'on' - this was confirmed by two different methods - stupid machine - that was nearly 0.5kWh per day wasted over 5 years. There must be something wrong with the machine, but that's another story.

I'm currently compiling my energy savings over these two years and will post when I get the time to finish the job...

[Olivia G]

There's quite a few alternatives if you don't like the Eon monitor, I've got both and Eon and an Efergy and I think I prefer the efergy, same job but a bit easier to use. Got mine from Efergy Whole House Energy Monitor £36.95 although you can probably get one from amazon