Power monitors display data from a sensor attached to the outside of a utility meter.
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With rising costs in energy, homeowners stand to benefit from a close examination their household power usage. With the aid of power monitors, which are small devices that observe the utility meter mounted outside your home, you can obtain an accurate picture of wattage drawn by appliances. This data can then be used to decrease the house's power usage, resulting in savings on monthly power bills.
Installing the Monitor and Sensor
Step 1
Install batteries in the power monitor and sensor as directed by the manufacturer.
Step 2
Examine your home electric meter and determine which of the three following types it is: electromechanical, with spinning dials and disks; electronic, with an optical LED port on the front or electronic, with the optical port mounted on the top.
Step 3
Read the print on the face of the meter to find the "Power Factor," a number preceded by the abbreviation Kh, Ks, or Kt, and write it down. For electromechanical meters, this tends to be 7.2. For meters that use an optical port, it is typically equal to "1".
Step 4
Wipe the outer casing of the meter clean with a damp cloth.
Step 5
Clamp the power meter sensor to the outer housing of your house utility meter following the manufacturer's instructions. In general, the sensor arm must be positioned over the discs of electromechanical meters (to read the strips as they pass underneath it) or with the sensor LED over the optical port.
Step 6
Activate the sensor according to the instructions included with it, then follow the directions to synchronize the monitor's display to it.
Step 7
Set the monitor's clock to the correct time of day, and the day of the week. Input the current ambient temperature if the device has such a feature.
Step 8
Program the power monitor to use the power factor that you read from your utility meter.
Step 9
Read your power bill to find your billing rate. If you are charged a constant amount per kilowatt-hour, input that rate into the monitor in "Flat Rate" mode. If you are charged a higher rate if you exceed one or more certain amounts of kilowatt-hours, program each of these rates and limits into the device in "Tiered Rate" mode. If instead, you are charged different rates depending on the time of day that the energy is expended, input each of these rates and the days, and times that they apply, into the monitor as "Time-of-Use."
Using the Meter to Monitor Electricity Usage
Step 1
Place the monitor's display in a prominent, central location in the home where it can be easily seen.
Step 2
Measure the power usage of an appliance by turning it off, pressing the "Tare" button on the monitor, then turning on the appliance. Wait for the monitor's output to update, then note the change in power usage.
Step 3
Press "Tare" again to return to normal monitoring, then repeat for every major appliance in your home.
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privacy & security protectedReferences
- Black & Decker: Power Monitor Instruction Manual
Resources
- Planet Green: How to Choose a Home Energy Monitor
Photo Credits
- Jupiterimages/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
