5:35 It would be nice to have a power switch that would act like one of those smart plugs but it would be designed to hook to an Alexa DOT or a Google Home system. If the electronic plug strip was designed so you could turn the entire switch off or you could turn each outlet on or off just with an app or your voice this could be so much more efficient and much easier to control. If you don't want to worry about needing to use your appliances and having the timer shut it off while you may need to use them at a time the timer would of shut the item off. Plus if this switch had a device that was like one of those lead testers that lets you know how much power you are using it would send that information to your app and you could track each item or the entire strip in one shot.
It would be nice if there was a way to monitor how much energy a each circuit uses per period of time, where you could reset it after the period of time ended, since appliances are not on continuously.
Disclaimer: I haven’t read all the comments.. But, I’m wondering why people are saying it’s time to update this video. The video was posted 8 years ago, people are requesting an update 2 years ago.. Have things changed this drastically? What are the differences?
The optical reader for the outside meter is a good idea, but I've got one of those new digital meters that wirelessly broadcasts back to the power utility. How do I read one of those ?
Check out the Rainforest Eagle Gateway (rainforestautomation.com/rfa-z109-eagle/). Most utilities will enable the ZigBee transmitter on your SmartMeter for you to connect with.
You can't - the info sent by these meters is encrypted (as you would want it to be, right?) so eavesdroppers can't access the data. Besides that though, these meters don't report instantaneous readings back to the utility. Instead, they report back how much energy is used in a given time frame. This time frame varies depending on how your utility does its data collection and billing, but it is typically every hour, or sometimes as often as every fifteen minutes. So even if you had that data, all you could read is the average power you used in a fifteen minute period (or hour, or whatever time interval your utility uses). That isn't granular enough for you to do much sleuthing...
I haven't seen an analogue power meter in many years. The digital kind pulses an led (usually) every kWh. With a simple ($10) device from Ikea that pulse is read and sent to a display with a bunch of analysis tools built in.
@@jgood005 Though single gang outlet/switch combos are readily available that's not how switched outlets typically work. The wall switch is installed just like a light switch. For any given branch circuit, instead of a switch controlling power to one or more light fixtures one or more additional switches (mounted just like a light switch,) now controls power to one or more outlets mounted in their normal location along a wall.
my area of California upgraded to smart meters....so I dont need any of those devices on the mains wiring or meter at all. I just use the meters inside the house, since SCE can tell me my usage per hour :D
Now that a lot of people have changed over to LED bulbs and Energy Star appliances the electricity rates have increased by about 65%. Investment in saving = higher cost, but we're helping the environment.
1:37 - Clip that on to the power meter, Gets electricity turned off for meter tampering, has to pay a $200 meter tampering charge + $75 reconnection fee
In this day and age with sensitive electronic components such as hard drives and other electronic storage, it is a bad idea to just cut power on a power strip. What you should be doing is learning how this technology works and why it may be running when you presumably think it is off. Notably a lot of todays devices have a "standby" feature, which generally does not draw a lot of power and probably wont even be notable on the end of the year electrical usage cost. For this case, 150W would indicate a computer ( usually over 100W by itself ) router/modem ( 10-30W ) being left on.
mewimi You just got to know what has a hardrive or things that have trouble turning of and on every day and what not. Someone who pulls the cord of their computer without shutting it down is an idiot first class, deserves it to have it broken. A printer on the other hand can easily be turned off and on by cutting the power.
MEWIMI: Well the person that has the hard drive that knows how important it is to have power to it 24/7 knows NOT to just cut power to the strip... In a case like that YOU should have a battery back-up on those hard drives...
You definitely would not want to cut the power to your main computer. While they do have a CMOS battery on the motherboard, those batteries do die. As long as you keep power to your computer you will not loose the important information that, that particular battery helps store. I know a little to deep for most, but just putting it out there.
Who uses Fax Machines. That type of tech stopped being mainstream in the early 2000's wow. Then again the Channel is called "This Old House". They aren't Joking on the Old Part.
Alot of people use fax machines. Its a very reliable easy to use thing for sending documents or order forms . They are very common in law firms and government offices.
Never was power management. Only power monitoring. Same idiots who came up with GFCI and gfi, switch leg and switch loop. Circuit is whole circuit (breaker). Interrupter is part of circuit (outlet). Switch leg is power at switch to light, loop is power at light, power goes to switch and loops back to light.
The laptop they showed looks like from 2005 or 2008, using win XP and internet explorer but this vid was posted in 2015.... Either this show was taped in 2008 or these guys are insane
make liberty a higher priority than "security" Benjamin Franklin (sometimes Thomas Jefferson) is often quoted as saying: Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
i turn everything off at night ..but the fridge i leave on i don't have a TV, DVD player, game console , i switched all my lights to 12v LED's and have a gas hob but a small electric combo oven ( it steams and roasts ) my gas bill is about $70 a year my power bill is about $300 a year and i use oil for heating about $400 a year i have a electric shower and in the summer never have the need for hot water so i boil a kettle of water to do the washing up..no dish washer you can save a lot f money ...and its easy
You have your choice from amongst systems such as the Wiser Energy monitoring system from Schneider Electric and Sense Labs Sense Monitor with Flex (CT) sensors or the more DIY/hobbyist type electricity monitoring systems like the IoTaWatt™ Open Wi-Fi Electric Power Monitor system, the OpenEnergyMonitor system, and others.
Or... turn off lights when you leave the room, wait for full loads to wash clothes and dishes, change over to LED when bulbs burn out... and use common sense and your brain instead of wasting money on electrical monitoring gadgets...
I mostly agree, though I do encourage people to buy and use the small electric meters like the Kill-A-Watt. It usually sells for $10-20 and can help you see how much electricity certain appliances and devices use. It's very useful for finding out how much of a phantom load certain devices have and whether or not it's worth to unplug them when not used. It's also useful for avoiding tripping breakers/blowing fuses since you will know how many amps/watts your devices draw.
Porsche924Tim: Just like he said... Its only that one appliance that is randomly pulling more amperage that its supposed to... How will you ever find this out unless you have this kind of software that will monitor and record 24/7 to catch that one device that is causing all the issues...??
Doesn't address phantom power or function as an early warning for acute device-drawn overload, like the anecdote in the video about his refrigerator. Maybe you should stop being a hypercritical butt-nugget!
@ Richard van Pukkem yea that way when you stop moving for a few minutes the lights go out lol. been left on the toilet in the dark once. took those out ever since haha.
I have been trying, to no avail, to find an appliance meter for measuring electricity and monitoring of related kilowatt per hour cost, for a 240 volt, 30 amp clothes dryer with a 4 prong NEMA 14-30P electric cord plug. To clarify, I do not want a whole house monitoring, or "smart" system, etc., but rather, just an independent unit. The only thing that I've been able to find that would come anywhere near what I'm talking about would be a product called a "Kill A Watt" meter, but they don't make them for that level voltage and amperage. Any suggestions?
im assuming you want to know how much your dryer costs to run.. open dryer door and look for the plate where it gives info on your machine..my dryer is 240 v 30 amp too. however it runs at 5400 watts(from info on face plate).take 5400/1000=5.4 kilo watts. look at electric bill .it may have delivery cost and usage cost..for example delivery may be 10 cents/kwh. 5.4x.10=54 cents...usage may be 12cents.5.4X12=65 cents. .54+.65=$1.19 to run dryer for one hour.( give or take low, medium ,high heat). this is from my info i got from the web.hope its correct and helped...
Correct and they have nothing in they web page based on this unit, just wondering if any one else have "modern" day similar unit as we can put it in all our customers house so they have it from the start
Watching this video in 2020 is still useful yet so fascinating.
And here we are in 2023, eMonitor is gone and now have Emporia at 1/3 the cost. th-cam.com/video/utpYMksMGTw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=wwD9OOy-sSMHUfkr
Oh my Fax, I can't live without it. Btw is a good video, I want to have one of those meters for all the house.
Fax is old school email is more convenient and not costly at all
Same here! Gotta have my fax!!! 😂
OMG - Windows XP!
Turn off your modem for the night so you don't have internet and you can save 15W but leave your fax on 24/7. Great idea...
thanks for the quick recap of the available tech!
5:35 It would be nice to have a power switch that would act like one of those smart plugs but it would be designed to hook to an Alexa DOT or a Google Home system. If the electronic plug strip was designed so you could turn the entire switch off or you could turn each outlet on or off just with an app or your voice this could be so much more efficient and much easier to control. If you don't want to worry about needing to use your appliances and having the timer shut it off while you may need to use them at a time the timer would of shut the item off. Plus if this switch had a device that was like one of those lead testers that lets you know how much power you are using it would send that information to your app and you could track each item or the entire strip in one shot.
I read this like 10 times and I’m still confused, could you explain
It would be nice if there was a way to monitor how much energy a each circuit uses per period of time, where you could reset it after the period of time ended, since appliances are not on continuously.
I have the Kill A Watt shown in 1:03 it works pretty well :)
Time to redo this video guys. It’s kind of hilarious.
I'd love to see a Tim Taylor version of this (from the TV show "Tool Time").
I'm sure it would he hilarious!
Disclaimer: I haven’t read all the comments..
But, I’m wondering why people are saying it’s time to update this video. The video was posted 8 years ago, people are requesting an update 2 years ago..
Have things changed this drastically? What are the differences?
I'm sure Bob Villa is proud of you guys.
The optical reader for the outside meter is a good idea, but I've got one of those new digital meters that wirelessly broadcasts back to the power utility. How do I read one of those ?
Couldn't have asked it better myself.
Many utility companies will provide you access to the data they collect if you contact them.
Check out the Rainforest Eagle Gateway (rainforestautomation.com/rfa-z109-eagle/). Most utilities will enable the ZigBee transmitter on your SmartMeter for you to connect with.
You can't - the info sent by these meters is encrypted (as you would want it to be, right?) so eavesdroppers can't access the data. Besides that though, these meters don't report instantaneous readings back to the utility. Instead, they report back how much energy is used in a given time frame. This time frame varies depending on how your utility does its data collection and billing, but it is typically every hour, or sometimes as often as every fifteen minutes. So even if you had that data, all you could read is the average power you used in a fifteen minute period (or hour, or whatever time interval your utility uses). That isn't granular enough for you to do much sleuthing...
DTE offers energy bridge that talks to the meter and provides real time data using their DTE insight app.
I haven't seen an analogue power meter in many years. The digital kind pulses an led (usually) every kWh. With a simple ($10) device from Ikea that pulse is read and sent to a display with a bunch of analysis tools built in.
Haha he said keep the fax machine plugged in, lol
Sense is best
I wonder why isnt this implemented in every new build home, this should be standard after 2020
Is there a Device I can use to measure how many watts I use over a 24 hour period
What if I want to monitor how often, hours per day, an appliance runs.
I just want to be able to tell when my 240 volt electric hot water heater is actually on and using electric. How can I do this cheaply?
The outlet meter type device plus recording the screen of it with your phone for 24 hours. Or a cheap Chinese wifi outlet meter. Good luck!
what if you have a LCD meter what does it mean?
Phantom power is prevented a lot more easily with switched sockets, as the UK uses.
Yeah sure, let me just move the desk and get down on my hands and knees every night to switch off my electrical outlets
@@jgood005 Though single gang outlet/switch combos are readily available that's not how switched outlets typically work. The wall switch is installed just like a light switch. For any given branch circuit, instead of a switch controlling power to one or more light fixtures one or more additional switches (mounted just like a light switch,) now controls power to one or more outlets mounted in their normal location along a wall.
@@rojohe Oh, in that case we have those. My electrician called them lamp switches.
my area of California upgraded to smart meters....so I dont need any of those devices on the mains wiring or meter at all. I just use the meters inside the house, since SCE can tell me my usage per hour :D
Now that a lot of people have changed over to LED bulbs and Energy Star appliances the electricity rates have increased by about 65%. Investment in saving = higher cost, but we're helping the environment.
OG+E [Oklahoma Gas + Electric] had replaced everyones' GE dial meters with the GE digital meters.
I am on smart hours with them i am saving about $30
How about just reading the information tag that come with major appliances? Also, if you're not using it, turn it off.
1:37 - Clip that on to the power meter,
Gets electricity turned off for meter tampering, has to pay a $200 meter tampering charge + $75 reconnection fee
And how is that tampering? Or are you just joking?
In this day and age with sensitive electronic components such as hard drives and other electronic storage, it is a bad idea to just cut power on a power strip. What you should be doing is learning how this technology works and why it may be running when you presumably think it is off.
Notably a lot of todays devices have a "standby" feature, which generally does not draw a lot of power and probably wont even be notable on the end of the year electrical usage cost. For this case, 150W would indicate a computer ( usually over 100W by itself ) router/modem ( 10-30W ) being left on.
mewimi You just got to know what has a hardrive or things that have trouble turning of and on every day and what not. Someone who pulls the cord of their computer without shutting it down is an idiot first class, deserves it to have it broken. A printer on the other hand can easily be turned off and on by cutting the power.
MEWIMI:
Well the person that has the hard drive that knows how important it is to have power to it 24/7 knows NOT to just cut power to the strip... In a case like that YOU should have a battery back-up on those hard drives...
You definitely would not want to cut the power to your main computer. While they do have a CMOS battery on the motherboard, those batteries do die. As long as you keep power to your computer you will not loose the important information that, that particular battery helps store. I know a little to deep for most, but just putting it out there.
Wait...fax machine??
Paul was a bit behind the times there, but to be fair our brand isn't called This Cutting Edge New House! :D
Who uses Fax Machines. That type of tech stopped being mainstream in the early 2000's wow. Then again the Channel is called "This Old House". They aren't Joking on the Old Part.
Alot of people use fax machines. Its a very reliable easy to use thing for sending documents or order forms . They are very common in law firms and government offices.
@@rbeck3200tb40 You heard about email and PDF?
@@dsp4392
yes of course . Some people send order forms by fax
I have old-time one
So.... Spend $800 to save $60?...
I wonder if you are still living in that house. Or living in a house that uses electricity.
Never was power management. Only power monitoring. Same idiots who came up with GFCI and gfi, switch leg and switch loop. Circuit is whole circuit (breaker). Interrupter is part of circuit (outlet). Switch leg is power at switch to light, loop is power at light, power goes to switch and loops back to light.
I was forced to watch this from my parental figure
The laptop they showed looks like from 2005 or 2008, using win XP and internet explorer but this vid was posted in 2015.... Either this show was taped in 2008 or these guys are insane
Watts up?
I what my done
Fax machine, really?
Buy a new
Laptop with all your you tube money
I skip the ads on TOH...
I sure hope that none of these fancy readers will show up as "phantom power".
make liberty a higher priority than "security"
Benjamin Franklin (sometimes Thomas Jefferson) is often quoted as saying:
Those who would give up Essential Liberty
to purchase a little Temporary Safety,
deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
This is already outdated. There are systems out that can read your load by just tapping into the two mains coming into the electric panel.
Thats what I thought after I saw smappee
Many power meters wirelessly broadcast the meter reading, so you can also DIY with a $25 antennae. www.rtl-sdr.com/tag/rtlamr/
1513 kedron toledo ohio
probably shouldn't broadcast you live on the east side...... you guys are a whole different breed of people over there
Dear god they are using internet explorer 0_0
Interner explorer was the only browser available to people back when this video got made and got put on TH-cam
FAKE!!!!! if you had the wheel spin that fast on one light at 60kw the wheel would spin at 1000+rpm
It's tv magic
i turn everything off at night ..but the fridge i leave on
i don't have a TV, DVD player, game console ,
i switched all my lights to 12v LED's and have a gas hob but a small electric combo oven ( it steams and roasts )
my gas bill is about $70 a year my power bill is about $300 a year and i use oil for heating about $400 a year
i have a electric shower and in the summer never have the need for hot water so i boil a kettle of water to do the washing up..no dish washer
you can save a lot f money ...and its easy
You using oil to hear your home.is extremely bad for the environment
2:53 when Mom plugs the vibrator in
haha lmao
Vibrators are battery powered. Do you know something about AC powered vibrators that the rest of us don't?
Crazy was 9 years that long ago lol
Where do I buy the current sensors and the management box?
in 1999!
You have your choice from amongst systems such as the Wiser Energy monitoring system from Schneider Electric and Sense Labs Sense Monitor with Flex (CT) sensors or the more DIY/hobbyist type electricity monitoring systems like the IoTaWatt™ Open Wi-Fi Electric Power Monitor system, the OpenEnergyMonitor system, and others.
And if you have a sudden spike in power in your iOT devices or PCs, someone may be crypto-mining on it.
Having problems with circuits? Try circuit solver Spot circuit solver on the playstore!
How you monitore smart meters?
I use rainforestautomation.com/
Nice
oo very jewish
it doesnt send the dial, it senses the LED blinking, i have the same thing
It can do both. I had it too
But every thing is bs wireless
nice video guys, thank you for sharing !!
Take cold showers if you want to save on electric bill. Even in winter. You can do it! It's good for your skin too. Grow chest hair.
Try that in Canada. The water gets so cold, it hurts to even wash your hands.
Who uses a fax machine these days anyway? A desk light is a more realistic load for a constant hot outlet.
Or... turn off lights when you leave the room, wait for full loads to wash clothes and dishes, change over to LED when bulbs burn out... and use common sense and your brain instead of wasting money on electrical monitoring gadgets...
I mostly agree, though I do encourage people to buy and use the small electric meters like the Kill-A-Watt. It usually sells for $10-20 and can help you see how much electricity certain appliances and devices use. It's very useful for finding out how much of a phantom load certain devices have and whether or not it's worth to unplug them when not used. It's also useful for avoiding tripping breakers/blowing fuses since you will know how many amps/watts your devices draw.
Don’t turn off your lights, put a motion sensor in your room and have that control the lights. Screw those switches :-)
Porsche924Tim:
Just like he said... Its only that one appliance that is randomly pulling more amperage that its supposed to... How will you ever find this out unless you have this kind of software that will monitor and record 24/7 to catch that one device that is causing all the issues...??
Doesn't address phantom power or function as an early warning for acute device-drawn overload, like the anecdote in the video about his refrigerator. Maybe you should stop being a hypercritical butt-nugget!
@ Richard van Pukkem yea that way when you stop moving for a few minutes the lights go out lol. been left on the toilet in the dark once. took those out ever since haha.
big brother
I have been trying, to no avail, to find an appliance meter for measuring electricity and monitoring of related kilowatt per hour cost, for a 240 volt, 30 amp clothes dryer with a 4 prong NEMA 14-30P electric cord plug. To clarify, I do not want a whole house monitoring, or "smart" system, etc., but rather, just an independent unit. The only thing that I've been able to find that would come anywhere near what I'm talking about would be a product called a "Kill A Watt" meter, but they don't make them for that level voltage and amperage. Any suggestions?
im assuming you want to know how much your dryer costs to run.. open dryer door and look for the plate where it gives info on your machine..my dryer is 240 v 30 amp too. however it runs at 5400 watts(from info on face plate).take 5400/1000=5.4 kilo watts. look at electric bill .it may have delivery cost and usage cost..for example delivery may be 10 cents/kwh. 5.4x.10=54 cents...usage may be 12cents.5.4X12=65 cents. .54+.65=$1.19 to run dryer for one hour.( give or take low, medium ,high heat). this is from my info i got from the web.hope its correct and helped...
wow, the information is so outdated.
Correct and they have nothing in they web page based on this unit, just wondering if any one else have "modern" day similar unit as we can put it in all our customers house so they have it from the start