MeterPlug - Measures electricity usage

[jomo25]

Interesting proposed device I ran across on Engadget today. Seems might be something useful to EV owners. Not sure if it can handle the Amp draw for the UMC though.

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MeterPlug.Lower your ElectricBill.Measure real Electric cost | Indiegogo

 

[mknox]

Interesting proposed device I ran across on Engadget today. Seems might be something useful to EV owners. Not sure if it can handle the Amp draw for the UMC though.

There are a number of these plug-in meters (like the Kill-A-Watt), but this one with the smartphone app is kinda clever. If it is UL approved, it should be able to handle the full load (i.e. 15 amps) of the circuit, so a UMC with a 120 volt adapter should be fine. I used a plug-in power meter on my Chevy Volt's cord for a while with no problems.

 

[jomo25]

Right, I would think it'll handle 120V/15A. But it does support 240V using an adapter. So, you'd have to find an adapter that could work with 40A, and thats assuming it itself would. I'm in for 1. It would be useful around the house in general, and the Vampire mode and pseudo WeMo capabilities would be useful in a number of situations.

Edit: Duh, it says max current 16A. So, it would only handle the UMC at 120V.

 

[markb1]

This one should work for monitoring the whole circuit:

The Energy Detective (TED)
http://www.theenergydetective.com/downloads/InstallationPictorial5000.pdf

It's designed to be clipped around the hot wires in the electrical panel. You could clip it onto the wires coming in from the meter, and measure the whole house usage, or around the wires going to the charging outlet, to monitor just the EV usage.

 

[markwj]

With solar not being possible in Hong Kong, I have been looking for something like this. If I can reduce my electricity consumption by at least the amount of electricity my EV uses, I'll feel better about my impact.

I also laud these guys for launching with all the major plug types covered. Too many US-centric projects nowadays.

 

[NotTarts]

markwj, if you're charging late at night you're likely to be utilizing unused baseload power and aren't making an impact at all. I know at least that my power company's rates drop dramatically between 10pm to 7am.

 

[mknox]

This one should work for monitoring the whole circuit:

The Energy Detective (TED)
http://www.theenergydetective.com/downloads/InstallationPictorial5000.pdf

That's what I currently use, and I plan on putting another MTU on the EV circuit. It is a well supported product and there are several third-party mobile apps that work with it too.

 

[Ceilidh]

Perhaps a silly question but...

Doesn't the Model S already keep track of how much electricity it has sucked from the plug?

I can see the utility of the more sophisticated models that can estimate costs based on your rates and exact time of draw and such, but for a simple one that just counts how much has been through the plug, seems like the Model S already has that built in, right?

Cheers.

 

[markwj]

markwj, if you're charging late at night you're likely to be utilizing unused baseload power and aren't making an impact at all. I know at least that my power company's rates drop dramatically between 10pm to 7am.

We get no benefit in Hong Kong. No usable TOU metering .

While the real impact of the EV is minimal (especially compared to the previous gas guzzler it replaced). My impact mitigation is purely psychological

 

[Robert.Boston]

markwj, if you're charging late at night you're likely to be utilizing unused baseload power and aren't making an impact at all. I know at least that my power company's rates drop dramatically between 10pm to 7am.

There's no such thing as "unused power." There is unused generating capacity overnight, but that's actually true around the clock; system operators always have reserves (except in dire emergency conditions). Generation always matches load, so increasing load necessarily increases generation and (in HK) fossil fuel usage.

 

[markwj]

There's no such thing as "unused power." There is unused generating capacity overnight, but that's actually true around the clock

Like the telephone system, they need the capacity for peak usage. I used to point out that the incremental cost of a single telephone call is near zero - it is only when the call is placed at 5:30pm that it has a cost.

Hong Kong is largely fossil fuel and nuclear powered, and it is not easy to turn those generators down.

 

[FalconNinetyD]

Bought a TED about a year ago, spent 1/2 day trying to get it to work, then shelved it. Need to try it again...

This one should work for monitoring the whole circuit:

The Energy Detective (TED)
http://www.theenergydetective.com/downloads/InstallationPictorial5000.pdf

It's designed to be clipped around the hot wires in the electrical panel. You could clip it onto the wires coming in from the meter, and measure the whole house usage, or around the wires going to the charging outlet, to monitor just the EV usage.

 

[tezco]

HOBO Data Loggers are another possibility, particularly if you can't get the through-the-wiring data transmission part of TED to work:

http://www.onsetcomp.com/products/data-loggers/u12-006

 

[swaltner]

Bought a TED about a year ago, spent 1/2 day trying to get it to work, then shelved it. Need to try it again...

I installed a TED in two breaker panels (PV system on the house) a couple weeks ago. I initially had trouble getting the gateway to talk to the MTU, when the gateway was in my office with all the computer equipment. It worked like a champ once I moved the gateway to an outlet on a dedicated circuit right off the breaker panel.

One benefit of using something like TED over the built-in battery monitor in the Model S is that the TED can let you see the actual power going into the battery. You would see the extra energy wasted by inefficiencies in the charging process when using a TED. And it's another gadget to buy? How could you go wrong buying another gadget?