Price: $99 (plus $149 for Wi-Fi).
The BlueLine power monitor was always our first love. But then, our eyes were diverted by the features and strong communications skills of TED 5000. It was not a long affair -- TED just didn’t deliver, and we’re sorry, but while we have been away, BlueLine has gotten a lot sexier.
We have given the new WiFi connection available with the BlueLine monitor a solid test, and I am happy to report that we think it’s pretty hot.
The BlueLine monitor requires no connection in your electrical panel, and just straps to your electricity meter -- only Wattvision can also claim this distinct advantage, which it that it is very accurate. It’s a lot easier to install than other kinds, and doesn’t require an electrician. It is compatible with most meters (but make sure to check our list). It can take a little fiddling around to get the meter setup right, but I found it reasonably well documented, and it worked reliably for me. Two AA batteries power the meter part. Look ma, no wires!
The monitor comes with a display that shows current consumption (in $/hr or kW), time and outdoor temperature (a nice bonus!). It is also wireless -- having neither a plug nor any other data wiring. This means it can sit pretty much where ever you want it.
Beyond The Instant Readout: Power Usage Over Time.
But the inner beauty of the new feature of the BlueLine is that you can get a WiFi connector -- it’s optional, and even can be purchased separately to work with old BlueLine (or Black & Decker) monitors.
The WiFi connector is a simple little donut that reads the signal from the sensor attached to your meter, connects to your home network, and sends its data for storage on Microsoft Hohm, where you can log in and see your electricity use over time.
Looking at your use over time is probably as important, or maybe even more important than having a display in your house as a tool to help save energy. Microsoft Hohm provides a (free) service we have written about before, but now Hohm provides a place to store and view your electricity data from the BlueLine. It’s very similar to Google PowerMeter in this way -- a little extra gloss, a little less functionality.
Setup of the WiFi donut was pretty straightforward. You run a Windows program (sorry, no Mac yet) where you enter a little info about your network, your meter, and your Hohm account, then this information is downloaded to the WiFi device via USB cable. Once that’s all set no further computer connection is needed so you can locate the donut where ever you like as long as it’s in range of your electrical meter and WiFi router.
I had a few problems getting things set up correctly at first, but the good folks at BlueLine assure me that this doesn’t happen to normal (patient) people.
One minor complaint is that there are a lot of parts that need to work together: the meter device which you need to configure for your meter, fresh batteries, the display which needs to sync, and needs more batteries, the WiFi device which needs to be configured to work with your network and connect to Hohm. Once I had the setup done, the device has been very reliable.
If you’re looking for a simple solution, Wattvision has a far simpler approach to get the same data, although ... no display yet.
Another small complaint is that the display doesn’t update very frequently (about once every 15 seconds), and measures only to 1/10th of a kW (100 watts) -- when you’re seeing how much something uses, having greater accuracy and frequent updates is helpful. But these quibbles are probably not that relevant for most people.
The charts on MS Hohm are done very well, and the resolution of the data is very high, collecting a reading every minute, compared to Google PowerMeter, which collects data every 10 minutes. Hohm has other features to offer, including a comparison to your neighbors.
As a bundle (BlueLine + WiFi), the price is about the same as The Energy Detective, a.k.a. TED 5000 and Wattvision -- seems like everyone thinks this stuff should cost about $250 ... except me.
Given our troubles with TED 5000, the BlueLine has redeemed itself in our eyes doing most of what TED does, more simply. It is certainly the most realistically commercial, accurate, flexible, easy to install, reliable whole-house energy monitor out there today ... with a display.
Comments
It should be made very clear that the data recorded by the Blue Line device is _NOT_ made available to the owner of that device except in the form of very simple and predetermined graphs. The data is not exportable to any other piece of software (e.g. Excel) and the actual numbers are recorded and kept by Microsoft.
I don't mean to overly critical, but anyone trying to do any kind of energy and power analysis of their home should look for a different tool.
Posted by Tom Carter on Jan 28, 2011 8:15pmHey Tom, thanks for the comment and sorry for the delay in responding. I think you're absolutely right that there are more sophisticated tools on the market -- the eMonitor is probably our favorite at Energy Circle for comprehensive, in-depth data -- but the Powercost is a great "introduction to energy monitoring" tool, great for families and lay-persons who just want to see how their home uses energy. And, it's fun.
Posted by Will on Feb 25, 2011 11:43amHow is this going to tell me which appliance in the house is the least energy efficient? Unless there are sensors that can be attached to a plug this brings no value to me.
Posted by Anonymous on Feb 24, 2011 2:28amHey thanks for the comment. I think you might actually find that the Blue Line is a more useful tool than you think though -- although it just gives a single reading of the whole house, you start to recognize patterns after a while, for example, you'll notice that when the dryer is on the whole-house reading spikes dramatically. Visualizing this impact is pretty powerful. Another insight people are often surprised about is that even when you think you're not using much electricity -- the t.v. is off, the dryer is off, most of the lights are off, etc. -- the "baseload," or the sum of the little appliances, electronics and vampire loads, can be huge. Walking around the house and doing things like unplugging the microwave, unplugging your cellphone charger, you can actually decrease that baseload dramatically.
It's true that if you're looking for comprehensive, in-depth data, this might not be the best tool for you; but you'd have to pay a lot more for the right one. The Powercost monitor is a good start. It really does have an impact, and it really is fun to use.
Posted by Will on Feb 25, 2011 11:39amAfter reviewing the cost of the eMonitor, I think it would be good for industrial applications but it would be a long time before the average home owner would recover the cost.
Posted by Pat on Jan 28, 2012 11:30amPat--if your rationale for energy monitoring is solely simple paypack, and you live in a relatively low energy house, then yes, the eMonitor might not be the right product. (Ours, in combination with a few other low cost measures like smart strips and lighting, has paid for itself in just over a year but parsing how much of that is from the act of monitoring vs the energy saving devices we've deployed is not very exact.) For us the circuit by circuit information--particularly for kids who now have access to the precise electric use of their rooms--has been hugely valuable. For that alone, it's been worth every penny.
That said, at Energy Circle we're striving to carry as broad a range of energy monitors as possible, once we test and approve them. I'm doing everything I can with manufacturers to guide them towards a $50-100 wifi device with an internet interface--this isn't hard to make, we just need a manufacturer to do it. The Owl Electricity Monitor, as around $80, is the lowest priced whole house device we've been about to find so far.
Posted by Peter Troast on Jan 28, 2012 1:37pm