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Power Monitor


Falco

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Posted

As from a previous thread:

 

Since the ISY has a log of all events that go on and usually kicks off certain timed events.

I had this idea where you could chart your power consumption.

You could assign each device a Watt value, and based on how long the device is on could generate how much energy was used by said device. This could also lead to the user inputting the utility company's "cost per watt" and could show the user how much energy their home is using per day, and that by dimming certain devices you could save X dollars. Could also lead to weekly, monthly or yearly chart trends.

 

Since the log is already generated, all that would be necessary is a few things to compile statistics on it, and a watt value for each device.

 

Only tricky thing is figuring out device efficiency, (as, dimming to 50% is equal to X% of watts being saved)

 

As this month of November our household is doing a "How Low Can We Go, Green Challenge" by seeing how little energy we can use.

Posted

Hi Falco,

 

I like the idea very much ... this has been one of our requirements for the longest time but, perhaps, we can do something simple as a workaround: maybe we can put the watt/hour in the device property?

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

  Falco said:
As from a previous thread:

 

Since the ISY has a log of all events that go on and usually kicks off certain timed events.

I had this idea where you could chart your power consumption.

You could assign each device a Watt value, and based on how long the device is on could generate how much energy was used by said device. This could also lead to the user inputting the utility company's "cost per watt" and could show the user how much energy their home is using per day, and that by dimming certain devices you could save X dollars. Could also lead to weekly, monthly or yearly chart trends.

 

Since the log is already generated, all that would be necessary is a few things to compile statistics on it, and a watt value for each device.

 

Only tricky thing is figuring out device efficiency, (as, dimming to 50% is equal to X% of watts being saved)

 

As this month of November our household is doing a "How Low Can We Go, Green Challenge" by seeing how little energy we can use.

Posted

Knowledge of power consumption is significant. I was recently paying bills and started to wonder why my electric bill was five times the gas bill. We use gas for hot water, laundry drying, and central heat.So I thought perhaps some of those things which run 24/7 add up to more than I thought. First I studied my electric rates, and determined that a 250 watt load running 24/7 costs a dollar a day, or $30 per month. That's about 20% of my electric bill. Then I started a list of things which run 24/7. It was quite an eye opener. Here's what I came up with:

 

Home automation devices:

40 switchLincs

5 lampLincs

2 access points

1 PLM

1 ISY

2 X-10

 

Network electronics:

1 desktop computer

1 computer monitor

1 laptop computer

2 routers

1 ethernet hub

1 linkstation (NAS)

1 printer

1 print server

1 FIOS interface box

 

Home appliances:

electric stove

refrigerator

microwave

dish washer

clothes washer

clothes dryer

dehumidifier

HVAC

2 garage door openers

security system

 

Home electronics:

2 TVs

2 set top boxes

1 DVD player

1 VCR

2 stereos

4 clock-radios

3 wireless phone bases

1 cell phone charger

 

My intention is not to give you an inventory of my household electrical loads, but to illustrate how much stuff there is around the house drawing power while you're not looking. Virtually every appliance now has some electronics in it. While I expect the home automation devices to draw power 24/7, I tend to forget that all the other stuff draws some nominal amount of power even when it is turned "off". The total is 88 devices, almost half of which don't involve home automation.

 

If the average standby power consumption for these devices is three watts, I'm over 250 watts total. Many of these devices may draw less than that, on the other hand there are a number that draw quite a bit more. And if the standby power consumption doesn't bother you, remember that many of these devices have switching power supplies, and could contribute to power line noise problems. You can't put filterLincs on everything (at least I can't).

 

I'd like to be able to measure this power to see if my guesstimates are anywhere close to reality. So far I haven't figured out a way to do this. Has anyone done this, and if so, how?

 

I'm posting all this for two reasons: First it demonstrates that the cost of running a house full of all these goodies is not trivial. Any one item may be negligible, but in total it's not. Second, if this constitutes 20% of my electric bill, and its happening many times over across the country, we're not helping to keep the planet green. Certainly systems like Insteon/ISY do a great job in shutting down loads when they're not needed, but there's a minimum overhead here which shouldn't be forgotten. I think the next time I go away for more than a few days, there will be some breakers opened and some plugs pulled.

 

Linuxguy

Posted

Hello linuxguy,

 

Thanks so very much for the feedback and you are 100% correct.

 

We are working on Brultech module which allows you to measure your consumption total. You can turn things on/off to see how the consumption rate changes + you can use the total consumption value in programs to curb demand.

 

This module should be available shortly.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

  linuxguy said:
Knowledge of power consumption is significant. I was recently paying bills and started to wonder why my electric bill was five times the gas bill. We use gas for hot water, laundry drying, and central heat.So I thought perhaps some of those things which run 24/7 add up to more than I thought. First I studied my electric rates, and determined that a 250 watt load running 24/7 costs a dollar a day, or $30 per month. That's about 20% of my electric bill. Then I started a list of things which run 24/7. It was quite an eye opener. Here's what I came up with:

 

Home automation devices:

40 switchLincs

5 lampLincs

2 access points

1 PLM

1 ISY

2 X-10

 

Network electronics:

1 desktop computer

1 computer monitor

1 laptop computer

2 routers

1 ethernet hub

1 linkstation (NAS)

1 printer

1 print server

1 FIOS interface box

 

Home appliances:

electric stove

refrigerator

microwave

dish washer

clothes washer

clothes dryer

dehumidifier

HVAC

2 garage door openers

security system

 

Home electronics:

2 TVs

2 set top boxes

1 DVD player

1 VCR

2 stereos

4 clock-radios

3 wireless phone bases

1 cell phone charger

 

My intention is not to give you an inventory of my household electrical loads, but to illustrate how much stuff there is around the house drawing power while you're not looking. Virtually every appliance now has some electronics in it. While I expect the home automation devices to draw power 24/7, I tend to forget that all the other stuff draws some nominal amount of power even when it is turned "off". The total is 88 devices, almost half of which don't involve home automation.

 

If the average standby power consumption for these devices is three watts, I'm over 250 watts total. Many of these devices may draw less than that, on the other hand there are a number that draw quite a bit more. And if the standby power consumption doesn't bother you, remember that many of these devices have switching power supplies, and could contribute to power line noise problems. You can't put filterLincs on everything (at least I can't).

 

I'd like to be able to measure this power to see if my guesstimates are anywhere close to reality. So far I haven't figured out a way to do this. Has anyone done this, and if so, how?

 

I'm posting all this for two reasons: First it demonstrates that the cost of running a house full of all these goodies is not trivial. Any one item may be negligible, but in total it's not. Second, if this constitutes 20% of my electric bill, and its happening many times over across the country, we're not helping to keep the planet green. Certainly systems like Insteon/ISY do a great job in shutting down loads when they're not needed, but there's a minimum overhead here which shouldn't be forgotten. I think the next time I go away for more than a few days, there will be some breakers opened and some plugs pulled.

 

Linuxguy

  • 5 months later...
Posted

Hello Kevin, long time no see!

 

Yes, the module is available only for 99 series.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

  rosestudio said:
Hi Michel-

 

Is the Brultech module available at this point? Sounds like a must have! :)

 

Thanks-

Kevin

Posted

Yes...I know that it has been a while! The ISY has been cooperating lately so I haven't had the need to be in touch.

 

I didn't see any mention of the Brultech on the website. Where do I get more info such as cost, how it hooks up, and how it links with the ISY?

 

Thanks-

Kevin

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