How to Choose a Home Energy Monitor
Home Energy Monitor
A home energy monitor is an intelligent device that connects to the electrical panel in your home and collects data on how much electricity you use each minute. This information can help you make smarter decisions about what to buy and how to use it, which can lead to lower energy bills.
The best home energy monitor will take into account your specific requirements and preferences, including what type of data you want to collect, whether or not you are interested in solar power tracking, and the technology that the monitor uses. You should also consider your budget and how quickly you want to see results.
Individual Appliance Monitoring – If you only want to monitor the usage of a few devices or outlets in your house, then an individual appliance monitor is the way to go. These monitors are designed to track energy use by recognizing patterns in the electricity that each device produces and linking them to your home’s Wi-Fi. These devices are most commonly used for smaller appliances, such as blenders and hair straighteners.
How to Choose a Home Energy Monitor
AI or ML Appliance Recognition – Most energy monitors that feature appliance recognition have artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) to identify the “signature” of each individual appliance, and report on its energy usage. This can provide insights and recommendations that can be used to make more informed purchases of both new and existing appliances.
Whole-House Energy Monitors – A more comprehensive option for tracking the total energy use in your home is a whole-house energy monitor, which plugs into individual circuits on the home’s electrical panel. These systems offer a side-by-side comparison of energy input and output, as well as alerts if they detect changes in the amount of energy that an appliance is using.
They also often include smart plugs to monitor and control small appliances in your home, as well as a mobile app that sends notifications about your home’s energy usage. These devices can help you cut your electric bill by reducing the amount of time that your appliances are in use, and they are easy to install and maintain.
Solar Home Energy Monitors – For homeowners who have installed solar panels, or are planning to do so in the future, a monitor that can track solar production is ideal. This can show you when and how much solar energy is being generated and what it’s being used for. These monitors can also be integrated with other smart home devices, such as smart thermostats and smart plugs to control them in order to maximize energy savings. Some also work with voice assistants, like Google Home and Amazon Alexa, to give you status updates on your energy consumption in real time.
The most comprehensive and affordable option for energy monitoring is Eyedro’s Home Energy Monitor, which clips into your home’s electrical panel to feed information to an online dashboard. This monitor is also available with a Wi-Fi connection, so you can see your energy usage wherever you are in the world.