Whole house energy monitor suggestions

[Pilot2022]

Don't want to convert this forum into an electrical DIY forum but thought many may find this discussion useful. As many of us are jumping into the EV arena for the first time, it would be nice to know current energy usage, current draw etc at the house.
Besides Sense, Emporia, any other product recommendations?
Looks like at $70, Emporia with connectors to the main incoming service leads should suffice most of our needs.

Thx

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[Sgt Beavis]

Doesn't your electric bill show you your monthly kWH usage? Or are you looking at something more granular?

Electric providers that use smart meters usually let you check out your daily consumption on their website or on an app. I can even look at electric consumption when compared to the daily temperature.

 

[Pilot2022]

Good question.
Looking for more granular data and also amperage draw.

Doesn't your electric bill show you your monthly kWH usage? Or are you looking at something more granular?

Electric providers that use smart meters usually let you check out your daily consumption on their website or on an app. I can even look at electric consumption when compared to the daily temperature.

 

[SteffanG]

I use eyedro for monitoring in my house (have 3 separate ones right now monitoring different things)

 

[Sgt Beavis]

Good question.
Looking for more granular data and also amperage draw.

Yea, I'm looking at my provider's website (unitedpower.com) and I don't see an option for amperage. There are a lot of smart electricity folks on the forum, I'm sure they'll have a suggestion.

I need some of this info as well. I'm looking into going solar.

 

[DBJohnston0104]

I have the Emporia and it's great for simple viewing with the ability to switch between different metrics. When I first got mine installed I went around the house turning things off and on to see how much power it was drawing. Super cheap and easy way to cut down on energy costs.

 

[Pilot2022]

I have the Emporia and it's great for simple viewing with the ability to switch between different metrics. When I first got mine installed I went around the house turning things off and on to see how much power it was drawing. Super cheap and easy way to cut down on energy costs.

thanks.
did you get extra connectors to monitor branch circuits or just the ones for the main incoming leads?

 

[SteffanG]

This is the data you can get from the eyedro (they are 2 separate units in the net meter) It can be setup for solar monitoring on one and consumption on the other

 

[Fastnf]

I also use Emporia https://www.emporiaenergy.com/emporia-smart-plug. I have it on the main as well as on individual curcuits such as my well pump guest house and garage. It seems to be very acurate. I can see the spike when my well starts as well as the steady state current. It reads every second and stores the data. I have been using it for about 2 years now with no issues.

 

[GarageMahal]

My solar installer used eGauge and I added on additional CTs so I can track 15 circuits.
https://www.egauge.net/

I really like the data I can get to using local API calls. The device also hosts a webpage that has a lot of good stuff on it and is easy to use.

 

[adoublee]

My solar installer used eGauge and I added on additional CTs so I can track 15 circuits.
https://www.egauge.net/

I really like the data I can get to using local API calls. The device also hosts a webpage that has a lot of good stuff on it and is easy to use.

I like how the eGauge interface updates every second, so you can see what is happing in near real time. With that you can estimate how much power different items draw that you turn on or off, even if they don't have the additional CTs connected.

 

[DBJohnston0104]

thanks.
did you get extra connectors to monitor branch circuits or just the ones for the main incoming leads?

No, I didn’t really want to spend the money on them just to monitor them one time. I mean, once you turn something on and off you can figure out its consumption. Past that you wouldn’t really need it for that specific breaker. At least in my opinion…

 

[n8dgr8]

You can build your own with a Rasperry Pi and Arduino pretty cheap < $100 and have infinite flexibility.

 

[RLXXI]

I just use an ohms law calculator to calculate each devices rated max current draw. Over the years I've found that nothing ever pulls the full rated amperage. That leaves some wiggle room (safety net) when adding up all of your appliances/devices/etc.....

I get daily readings of solar array output as well as the local grid supplier on their respective websites but have yet to find any real use for those numbers. Our budget is if we need it, we pay for it, if we can't afford it, we don't need it lol.

 

[Pilot2022]

You can build your own with a Rasperry Pi and Arduino pretty cheap < $100 and have infinite flexibility.

nice. i have a spare pi collecting dust somewhere. will need to look into arduino....

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