Blue Line Powercost Monitor
Blue Line Powercost Monitor


(click image to view)

Blue Line Powercost Monitor

4.5
8 Reviews | Add Your Review
Regular Price: $109.00Special Price: $99.00

In stock: ready to ship.

Quick Overview

Get the low-down on what your house is costing you in Kilowatts or dollars. Clip it to your meter and start making sense of your bills. It's that easy.

Availability

Blue Line has recently announced connectivity with Microsoft Hohm using a new WiFi module.  If you have a Blue Line (or Black and Decker) monitor already, the WiFi module can be added on and used to collect data and send over the Internet so that you can see usage over time.  This is a significant improvement to the original model -- we have tested the new capability now and it's available through our store now!

Product Description

Its 4pm. Do you know what your house is doing? The PowerCost meter will tell you. This easily installed gadget transmits data from your electricity meter to an in-home LCD that displays how much power your house is using and how much that power costs you. The Powercost meter can not only help you pinpoint where the power hogs are, it also allows you to track when your household burns the most money. The straightforward two part system consists of a Sensor Unit attached directly to the outside of your electric meter and the Power Monitor display unit, which is wireless, and can be located in any room of the house for easy reference. The sensor can be attached and detached without impacting the meter. The monitor can sit on a counter or be mounted on the wall. Both the sensor and monitor are battery operated (batteries included).

We Thought You'd Like To Know

 This is the newest model of the Blue Line, #28000.

Plays well with (most) others:

List of Known Compatible Meters

  • CENTRON by Itron/Schlumberger
  • I-210 by GE
  • iCon by Sensus
  • R1S, REX by Elster
  • Echelon EM-502xx -Series "NES - Solid State Watt Hour Meter"
  • Disk meters with Black mark clearly visible

 

List of Known Incompatible Meters

  • FOCUS by Landis & Gyr (Triangular port at the 3:00 position)
  • Schlumberger MT100/200 Hybrids
  • A1R+ and A3TL by Elster (Alpha)
  • GE Kv2 Series
  • Altimus by Siemens and Landis & Gyr
  • ASX/RSX by Landis & Gyr
  • Disk meters with plates covering the disk and black mark
  • Net Metering (Disk spinning in both Directions or digitals meters displaying bi-directional amounts)

Nitty Gritty

Included are one display unit, one sensor unit, an installation guide, setup guide, user's manual, installation DVD, and 4 AA alkaline batteries.

What The Pros Are Saying

Solsaa Energy Solutions
Rutland, VT
These monitors are simple to install and have a nice display.
Eco Energy Evaluations
Long Beach, CA
This is a nifty little whole house energy monitor.  Very easy to install; I can help with that.

Customer Reviews

4

i have some new ideas for your company, since you have been able to build this device , if you are intrested please contact me at this email address at any time , Mr. Napoleon Nelson

Posted by Anonymous on Feb 8, 2013 9:00pm
My utility company can send data signals directly to the new digital meter through the power lines to increase actual usage amounts. The technology to send data on power lines has been available for years. I have caught them on this several times, but they deny it. In one case, I was not at home for three weeks and had shut down everything but the refrigerator. When I got my bill for that month, it was higher than the previous month. I was told that was the reading and that is what I would have to pay. They were not interested that nothing was used for almost a month. While this device is a great idea, it has no use for me since the power company can remotely increase the readings. I did not have this problem with the old analog meters. The single largest shareholder of my utility is Goldman Sachs of Wall Street. Posted by Anonymous on Jun 12, 2012 11:54am

If you are concerned about the accuracy of the data from your meter than the Blue Line is not the best fit for your needs, as it reads the same errors.  Consider getting a device that connects at the circuit box, such as the eMonitor or Eyedro.  However, be sure you understand how your electrical system is wired, if you have multiple panels that are wired directly to the meter you would need multiple monitors to capture total use. Also, if you are switching your home "off" while out of town do so at the circuit box or equip your house with smart power strips, as even when everything in your house is turned off many electronics still have a standby (aka vampire power) draw. Its also worth making sure you have traced your electrical wiring and are certain there are no additional circuit boxes feeding off the meter - For instance a friend purchased half a duplexed townhouse and was amazed at how large his power bill was, as it turns out it was because he and his neighbor were fed by the same meter but he was the one who got the bill.

Power companies have not publicly accepted any data source other than their meter as valid, however if you have installed a monitor and it is showing a wide variance between your power use and what the power company says your meter is showing and your power company is unwilling to double check the meter for accuracy or help address your concerns, OR if you are convinced that your utility is committing fraud, then you should contact your state's Public Utilities Commission's consumer/'ratepayer complaints department and discuss with them what sort of documentation they would need to see to launch a review. 

Before you do that though be sure you are comparing the same period, for instance my electric bill runs from the 14th of one month to the 13th of the next, so to get the right comparison data I'd have export daily usage from our monitor's webportal and slice and dice it a bit.  

 

Posted by SageFriedman on Jun 13, 2012 9:36am
when was this product developed? Posted by Anonymous on Aug 9, 2011 12:50am
We installed one of these units 7 months ago and it was thrilling to see real-time data but after a while we realized the calibration of the unit (total actual kwh used over the actual period in question) was off by about 30 percent compared to actual meter readings. Sometimes the instantaneous usage rate spikes up and down over a short time and we don't know why. We definitely reduced use of air conditioning after getting the information this unit provided us. I have not been able to discover how to correct the discrepancy. Other challenges: the receiver has difficulty getting a signal through a masonry wall, limiting our ability to carry it throughout the house. We have it located near the kitchen table, about 8 feet away from the power meter. Actual bills from our utility include other fees that may not depend on KWH used, which this unit cannot calculate for display. In the course of this I have realized my utility bills are based on estimated readings every other month, only accurate every second month. Now I'm paying closer attention and yes, the monitor has paid for itself already. I'd like to add the ability to save and upload data, maybe bundle this with a kill-a-watt type meter. Posted by Dave on Mar 23, 2010 2:19pm
5
After seeing the electricity monitoring on your website we thought we'd give it a try. The Blueline is very easy to install, easy to use, wireless which we love, and it's certainly made an impact in how we use electricity. I would recommend it to anyone. Posted by janet m on Jul 7, 2009 5:20pm
5

Monitoring your power usage is key. We like this monitor because it's easy to install and wireless. Our family takes turns putting the display next to their bed, so the information is right there for them to see. Even the teenager is running back to turn off lights.

Posted by Lisa on Jul 1, 2009 10:00am
4
We've been using our Blue Line for about 10 days and it has produced a marked shift in everyone's behavior. The toaster, coffee pot and, of course, the now hated dryer (that adds about $1.00/kwh when it's running) have been EXPOSED. The kids are engaged. An innate understanding of what's on and what our electricity use should be at any given time has developed. When the monitor shows a high number, and it isn't readily explained, the kids are off in search of the culprit. Too soon to tell what our savings will be, but I'm betting on it being better than the 20% the Canadian researchers say results from the simple act of monitoring. Do not pass go. If you want to get started with dealing with your home energy, you need to get a monitor. Posted by PT on Dec 8, 2008 1:58pm

Write Your Own Review

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.