paulbates Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 After several different attempts, the AMI department for DTE in Detroit has definitively said no to me joining my ISY ZS to my smartmeter. However, I was added to a program to evaluate a energy bridge appliance that provides detail meter data to their smartphone app. It requires the smartphone to be on the local LAN to initiate the joining and "It takes about an hour". Since its a zigbee pan, technically more than one device can participate, I'm wondering if its possible that the ISY will join too when that's initiated? Its handy that I actually control the joining event via the app. Anything special else I should be prepared for or other thoughts? It may not work, but it seems plausible. If anyone has accomplished joining their ZS with DTE, I'm all ears. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teken Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Paul, At a high level (10K feet) what is this supposed to do for you in terms of energy management / control? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulbates Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 Hi Teken Paul, At a high level (10K feet) what is this supposed to do for you in terms of energy management / control? The energy bridge? Its monitoring and management, no control. It will gather granular power use data, feed it to the cloud/internet, and then the DTE app on my phone will tell me how my power usage is over time. Very similar to what i would get with the ISY, but no control. It gets gas data from some other source and provides it as well. The DTE app is pretty impressive even without the power detail. Its easy to use and provides good visuals on use, and challenges to encourage you to do better, badges, etc for meeting challenges. It can provide energy use by brand / model of appliance. One of the coolest features; you can hold a power cord up to the back of your phone (iphone at least) and it will tell you how much power a running device is using. I've had a belkin power monitor for a few years, but this is much easier. The energy bridge will help me with monitoring, and will be great as a traveler. I won't have to buy an energy monitoring system, and the visuals and reports are already done. The fact that its challenge based might drive better behaviors out of some the the more left brained in my house hold Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teken Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Hi Teken The energy bridge? Its monitoring and management, no control. It will gather granular power use data, feed it to the cloud/internet, and then the DTE app on my phone will tell me how my power usage is over time. Very similar to what i would get with the ISY, but no control. It gets gas data from some other source and provides it as well. The DTE app is pretty impressive even without the power detail. Its easy to use and provides good visuals on use, and challenges to encourage you to do better, badges, etc for meeting challenges. It can provide energy use by brand / model of appliance. One of the coolest features; you can hold a power cord up to the back of your phone (iphone at least) and it will tell you how much power a running device is using. I've had a belkin power monitor for a few years, but this is much easier. The energy bridge will help me with monitoring, and will be great as a traveler. I won't have to buy an energy monitoring system, and the visuals and reports are already done. The fact that its challenge based might drive better behaviors out of some the the more left brained in my house hold Paul Hello Paul, Can you expand on the portion about holding a iPhone to a electrical cord and the device telling you about the energy being consumed?? What kind of magic is in this box that allows it to know (some random black cord) is what and what its consuming?? Do tell . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulbates Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 I know! I read the directions 3 times and had an 'out of body experience' before I tried it. But it does work. I have a 5S, and it has a magnetic sensor in it and that can be used to detect current. Rather than explain it, here are some of the screens involved, I just did one.: Swipe to pick cable type (There are one or two more types) Orient the cable up and down until it tells you to "hold it" Get the results I tested a 2 cord lamp with an 8 watt LED. I did not tell the app that at all Here is the blurb from DTE's website Click the + next to Tools What is Power Scan Tool and how can I use it?You can use the Power Scan Tool to scan an electrical device using just its power cord – and instantly see its energy consumption and an estimate of its monthly operating cost. Note: Android users do not have the Power Scan tool at this time. Currently, Android does not have the technology to support this tool, but Android users are still able to see the other two tools. You then enter what the device is, and it will tell you monthly costs. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teken Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 How close do you have to hold the iPhone against the electrical cord? Once this system is up and running can it tell you what individual loads are without the iPhone? Ideals are peaceful - History is violent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulbates Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 How close do you have to hold the iPhone against the electrical cord? I hold the cable right across the back of the 5S, about the top of the apple logo. Once this system is up and running can it tell you what individual loads are without the iPhone? Individual, no. Its more of an investigative tool to get you to see what devices in your house really use. Because I've had the belkin meter for a while, I already know most of this. The belkin calculates monthly and yearly costs as well. But, I do get points in the app for completing tasks and getting herded along like a cow, so I do it for that reason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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