Black & Decker EM100B Energy Saver Series Power Monitor
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Black & Decker EM100B Energy Saver Series Power Monitor
Customer Review: Can't use it.
Summary: 3 Stars
My electric company (JCP&L of New Jersey), does not allow anything attached to the meter.Customer Review: Cool Device
Summary: 5 Stars
The device is very good for the price it is at (hence 5 stars). I think this is the tail end of remaining devices, so if you are on the fence, grab it while it is there.
MY NEEDS: This winter my power bill skyrocketed, and so did everybody else's. That got me thinking, is my HVAC the problem or the low temperatures? Others having a high bill may not mean their system is in good shape. I first started logging data manually, then looked at bevy of Google Power meters, and finally settled on this unit.
OTHER POWER MONITORING DEVICES: I looked at a bunch of units out there. Most of them require installation at the breakers. These would run from $200-$300 plus install by an electrician. Best option, but pricey.
THIS DEVICE: For under $35 it gets you started, and gives you a sense if you need to move on to expensive units. This unit will not log data, but does everything else. It gets you meter readings at 30s increments - kW and current drawn. Put in your $/kWh it will estimate your monthly bill. You can 'zero' every month and get a fair idea kWh consumed and where the bill is headed. Another good feature: It allows you to temporarily "Tare" (sets background consumption to zero) and then start, say the dryer, and watch dryer specific consumption. You can do the same for water heater, electric range, etc and get an idea of how much it consumes. Left some lights on somewhere in the house? you may notice a real time higher consumption to tip you off. Overall it will help you save money, and be more data driven. This device does what "Kill-A-Watt" unit cannot do - get you unit specific 240V power consumption. I have a "Kill-A-Watt", and it has its own good uses.
INSTALLATION: Straightforward on my digital meter. Once its novelty wears off, you can be kind to let your neighbors and relatives borrow it.
Hope this helps.
Customer Review: Couldn't be happier
Summary: 5 Stars
Everyone who is cost conscious should own this product. Easy to instal and easy to use. I have found it to be accurate within 5% too and that is a good thing. We find ourselves playing with it--turning things on and off to see the impact each energy user has on our overall spending. Already, we have made numerous changes that are already reaping financial benefits.Customer Review: DISAPPOINTMENT!
Summary: 3 Stars
I HAD TO RETURN ITEM. IT WAS INCOMPATIBLE. I AM AWAITING A SALES TAX REFUND FROM AMAZON. THANK YOUCustomer Review: Did You Know Your Electric Meter Has an Optical Port with an LED Constantly Tramsmitting Your Electrical Usage? Check It Out.
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
There are 3 different types of electrical meters. Even the old dial style has an optical post on the face. Type 3 meters has one on the top. Look for a small round protruding pipe which is an optical port with an LED (Light Emitting Diode) in it. It is constantly transmitting your real time electrical usage. Why not tap into that resource, and be able to go through your home with a hand portable receiving unit, which also has a snap on desktop base, so you can monitor usage on the fly.
The refrigerator kicks on and you can instantly see what a difference that makes in your dollars, or Kw usage. Maybe the old fridge is costing you more per month in electricity than the payments for a new more efficient one, or maybe not? How do you know? Black and Decker Power Monitor to the rescue. It even does the calculations for you. Input the numbers off of your electrical bill once, and wah lah, you have the dollars and cents of it show up right on your screen.
Setting it up seems like a few minutes, but in reality it takes you more like an hour, but everything is easy. The instruction manual takes you through it with illustrations.
1) This is how you strap the sensor to your outside meter; including how to get it centered over your optical out LED. Once centered the sensor starts to blink, and then you tighten it down; done.
2) Then you want to determine your billing mode; peak/off peak, tiered, or flat rate billing, and the billing individual rates, which are printed in a column on your electrical bill; for example, generation charges 0.06840 + transitions charges .00560, plus distribution, and transition charges. If you add up all of those individual rates, the total sum is your total cost per kilowatt hour; then multiply that by 100 and you get your "billing rate". Keep that number handy for when you program your main unit, they refer to as your digital display.
Other than that all you need is your "Power factor", which is a number printed on the meter; e.g. usually 7.2Kh for an electro-mechanical meter, or 1.0Kh for an electronic meter. You can go outside and see what yours says; it is printed on the face.
So armed with your "Billing rate" number, and your "Power factor" printed on your meters face, you simply hit the program sync button on the top of the digital display, and enter the information when it asks you for it, as well as the day of the week, and the time, and your done. The manual walks you through all of this step by step.
The first time you go through the setup, as you read each part, you will say, "Oh I see". After you do one, you will say, "I could install another one of these in less than 3 minutes".
The Power Monitor will show you; Your current electrical usage, the usage of a single electrical appliance, your accumulated electricity usage over an hour, a day, or any time period, and your estimated monthly usage.
So to summarize; you may be using some devices like a small electric space heater in a bedroom, that you discover is consuming $50 per month worth of electricity, and you computer monitor plus a couple of light bulbs are only drawing 1 or 2 cents per hour. It is all at your fingertips. With the 2 double A battery driven digital display, you can sit in your armchair, and continually know what the total per penny/per hour usage is costing you. If someone is using something that costs you a fortune, within 30 seconds (the refresh results rate) of when they turn it on you know it. On the other hand you know when to not sweat the small stuff, and just what that small stuff is.
I don't know whether to place this in the "something for somebody who already has everything" category, or something for the frugal who want to put a lid on wasteful spending. Month after month, year after year amounts can really add up, especially if you don't know where the leaks are. For the latter it will more than pay for itself after a few months. Overall highly recommended. Well designed, engineered, and setup is a breeze as long as you do it one step at a time.