Sub meters to track energy usage?

[Byeehaaw]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to research ways to install a charger in my shared coop garage. Does anyone use a good sub meter to capture how much energy is being used? I know there are some good ones like sense, but I wouldn't have a wifi connection. The goal is to try to get the board to approve me pulling the wire from the coop electrical panel and pay my fair share for electricity.

Thanks!

 

[MikeATL]

Sense is good for educational purposes, but I’m not sure you’d want to use it for cost chargebacks.

Is it possible to just get the electric company to install a separate meter? Obviously install costs and recurring fees might impact whether this is a good idea. But, It might make sense to have a different rate plan for EV’s vs everything else on the coop”s meter.

If an official meter is not an option, you might ask some Electricians if they can install a basic manually read meter like the electric company uses but just for internal tracking.

Another possibility is to get one of the public charging companies to install it and manage it as a private meter. You’d have some costs to hire them but then they can, in theory, provide a turnkey way to resolve technical problems. Access could be restricted by code or an online account giving you a way to chargeback.

 

[brkaus]

You can get a meter can and a refurbished meter pretty cheap.

Example: RV Park Supplies

I have not used this company, it was found via google. But there are many places that you can get a refurb meter for $30 or less. A meter can costs about the same.

 

[SKRGO]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to research ways to install a charger in my shared coop garage. Does anyone use a good sub meter to capture how much energy is being used? I know there are some good ones like sense, but I wouldn't have a wifi connection. The goal is to try to get the board to approve me pulling the wire from the coop electrical panel and pay my fair share for electricity.

Thanks!

Look into the Neurio, you can track your EV usage and if you enter the costs of power, it will come very close to your power bill. I had to tweak it over 2 months, to get it the closest to the power bill. You will need to purchase the W1-HEM Home Energy Monitor and the solar SEK2 solar expansion kit. Contact Neurio tech line and they will help you with the extra settings to monitor the EV charging if you cannot figure it out.

(if you are NOT knowledgeable working with electrical wiring, please hire an electrician).

The whole unit mounts inside your power panel and the SEK2 mounts around the power wires that go to your EV connector/charger circuit.The WiFi antenna mounts through a knockout in the side of the panel. The information is transmitted to the phone or computer APP.

The IOS APP is Neurio Home.

Home - Neurio

Neurio Technology Inc.
43 W. Hastings St.
Suite #201
Vancouver BC V6B 1G4
Canada

 

[brkaus]

BTW - here is a thread on the topic -

Wall meter to measure power usage?

My preference for these type of situations is a standard mechanical meter. Nothing fancy. No WiFi needed. No chance of it (easily) being modified/hacked/reset.

 

[ai4px]

Hi guys,

I'm trying to research ways to install a charger in my shared coop garage. Does anyone use a good sub meter to capture how much energy is being used? I know there are some good ones like sense, but I wouldn't have a wifi connection. The goal is to try to get the board to approve me pulling the wire from the coop electrical panel and pay my fair share for electricity.

Thanks!

You can buy a cheap (real) electric meter on ebay. Electric companies are switching to smart meters, so there are a lot of the older analog clock hand variety. You just need to install the standard meter base to plug the meter into.

At my house, I bought a small resettable KWH meter. I think they were $16 with a 100amp current tap. But your co-op might want to know you didn't reset the reading to zero mid-month.

 

[SimonCh]

You can buy a cheap (real) electric meter on ebay. Electric companies are switching to smart meters, so there are a lot of the older analog clock hand variety. You just need to install the standard meter base to plug the meter into.

At my house, I bought a small resettable KWH meter. I think they were $16 with a 100amp current tap. But your co-op might want to know you didn't reset the reading to zero mid-month.

I’m not sure if cheap one is going to be good quality...

 

[MrMassTransit]

I asked my electrician a similar question when I had my install done. I was told it was $500 to have a sub meter installed. My suggestion is just to reach out to a few electricians and they should be able to make an equipment recommendation and provide a quote. It’s definitely possible.

 

[davewill]

Hialeah Meter has everything (meter and socket) you need for $45. I have the meter linked below. The big numbers make it really easy to read.

EZ Read FM2S 200A 240V 3W Meter

ROUND SOCKET 4 JAW 1" 2 HOLE

 

[ai4px]

The ebay Chinese kWh meters will not be revenue grade, but close enough for government work. Davewill suggested a real kWh meter from utility company service.... those a really cheap right now because to many utilities are switching to digital smart meters and there’s a lot of the old ones on ebay. An excellent choice.