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: Excellent product black and decker power monitor
Summary: 5 Stars
I just installed myself a solar energy generator system and needed to determine what to hook up to it that would save me the most money. I read the instructions and installed it and I found it to be great. The instructions and the quality of this product are great. I soon learned how lights, tv's, microwaves, refrigerator and other items in my house were costing me an hour and monthly and was able to reach a decision what to hook up to it. This product I am sure will save me money on my utility bill. Thanks Black and Decker. JBlack & Decker EM100B Energy Saver Series Power MonitorerryCustomer Review: Excellent product, great value
Summary: 4 Stars
I got one of these when Black and Decker put them on eBay recently for $20. At that price, it is a no-brainer.
Very easy to install on my old-style "Type 1" rotating-disc meter. The range exceeded my expectations - my meter is outside, mounted behind a concrete block wall, 100ft away from the house. I still get a reliable signal.
I deleted one star, because I think they could easily have provided a serial port for uploading readings to a PC for longer-term review of consumption.
A great product - I hope to see a new, improved model with PC upload capability before too long.
Customer Review: Eye on Power
Summary: 4 Stars
This monitor is impressive. I can see how by using this monitor that you can change your consumption habits. It make you much more aware of which electical applicances cost you the most and things that you can do to make change in your consumption. Thus reducing your monthly consumption and cost.Customer Review: FINALLY, a tool that makes Awesome sense!
Summary: 5 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I better give a little more info on how this hooks up to your meter. The sensor straps on to your power meter with a hose-clamp. It doesn't look as horrible as that sounded. It looks cool. There is a sensor on an arm that sits over the spinning mechanical wheel on your meter, or over the little IR port on the meter. It works on many different styles of meter, which is something I was a little worried about.
The box and meter claims it will help you save money on power. Well, it will not directly save you money. It helps you see what things are using a WHOLE lot of power, so you can save money by knowing what things you should turn off or replace because they are costing a whole lot.
You will want to make sure your power meter is within 30 meters (if I remember correctly) of where you can use the remote hand-held unit. I was really worried it would have issues with my wireless networks, but this uses a 400 MHz range signal, so it works great along side my wireless devices, with no interference! That was relief!
I really have to say, this is the greatest power metering device I have found yet! I have been using other devices, that meter individual outlets, but have been wishing for this item for a long time now!
You can program it for your power plan, whether you have peak hours that cost more (like me) or a different plan structure. The meter shows you how many watts used (in kilowatts) with a 100 watt resolution. It will also show you how much power you are using by price, say, $1.20 per hour for instance. You can see how much your A/C is costing you when it turns on. It has a "Tare" button so you can temporarily set it to zero, and turn something on and see how much power that item is using, instead of doing the math.
The Meter sensor uses 2 'AA' batteries, and so does the hand-held unit. They can not be turned off, and run constantly, but I have been going for quite a long time on normal batteries. When you connect the unit, it starts metering from that point. It will not match your power bill exactly, unless you reset it at the time your meter gets read every month. I really love this handy tool!
Customer Review: Fun, Frustrating, and a Bit Pricey
Summary: 4 Stars
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
The Black and Decker two piece system has a wireless unit that you install on your electric power meter. It attempts to read the meter and return the real time power usage for your entire house. You enter numbers from your electric bill and it tells you in dollars per hour how much you are using (there are other modes as well).
I was frustrated at first with trying to get the wireless unit on the power meter correctly. It kept losing the signal. I eventually got it pretty good, but it's not perfect. I finally decided that this isn't a perfect real time thing. It's just an extremely accurate estimate. Using it that way, it was a lot less frustrating. I have a mechanical meter and it also works on the optical ones, so they may work better.
Using the unit, I was able to see how much power my central air uses (35 to 40 cents an hour), my dishwasher (10 cents an hour) and my big set of basement light (12 cents an hour before I switched a few more bulbs to CFLs then 8 cents). Just having the unit where I can see it has helped me change habits and turn things off and switch my computers so they go into standby mode faster.
Use:
- Install batteries (not included). You may want lithium ones for the external unit if it gets below freezing in your area.
- Install external optical reader on your power meter. Wash the meter off first.
- Adjust meter reader until you get a good connection that doesn't drop.
- Grab one of your electric bills and enter some data into the readout unit. The unit uses this to calculate you hourly electric price.
- See how much power your entire house is using.
- Turn things off and on and see how much power they take.
Pros:
- Lets you know your "whole house" power footprint.
- Having the unit on where you can see it keeps you aware of the fact you are using power and helps you remember to turn things off.
- Helps you track down just why your electric bill is what it is.
- Fun for gadget geeks.
- Very cool way to know how much power appliances like central air and hard wired lights take.
- The Tare function make it really easy to isolate things like the dishwasher and central air. Hit the tare button then turn on the appliance. You get to see how much power that appliance is taking (plus any other things that were off when you hit tare and then kick in after).
- Includes an outdoor temperature reading.
Cons:
- Hard to get it perfect on a mechanical meter. It took a lot of goofing around to get it to keep working. It still drops out a little from time to time.
- The sunlight will interfere with the optical reader when it hits just right.
- Once you know how much power all the appliances in your house take, you don't really need this anymore.
- A little pricey, but maybe you could share it with friends or neighbors.
- No computer interface for graphing interpreting results.
Notes:
- Don't remove the big white tag. It's a note to the meter reader.
- Make sure to clean your meter with glass cleaner before installing the optical reader like it says in the instructions. It does help.
- Even though this unit attempts to read "actual" usage, it is not perfect. It should still be considered just a really good estimation.
Update: 3-29-2009 - I've come to really like this unit. I've hung it on the wall next to the thermostat. I like to glance at it daily to see energy useage. I've turned off an old computer that we kept on daily and our price per hour has gone down. I am also switching to CFLs where possible.
Update: 5-10-2009 - I was working in the garage when I guy came by and asked if I was the home owner. He was the meter reader and asked about the unit on my meter. I thought I was in trouble, but he had no problem with it. He wanted to know about it. I showed him the indoor unit and he thought it was great! He said he wanted one too!!!