Monitor Your Home’s Energy Use Using These 7 Gadgets
That smart home devices are just gizmos is one of many persistent fallacies surrounding this emerging technology. In the past, that was true, but that is no longer the case. There are a lot of smart home devices that are pretty useful.
This is particularly true in the field of energy monitoring. It is possible to identify all of how you are squandering money by monitoring your energy use (and harming the environment, if you care about that sort of thing). These intelligent monitors allow you to see real-time energy use information through a mobile device or the internet.
The initial expenditures of energy monitoring equipment are significant, but the long-term savings more than makeup for it.
Our post on the actual cost of smart homes has further information. Interested? Here are some of the best technologies for keeping an eye on your energy use.
Monitoring Individual Outlets
1. WeMo Insight Smart Plug
The WeMo Insight smart plug is a new product from WeMo, a company that has a well-established track record of creating innovative products. The new Insight plug has been designed to provide users with a convenient solution to remotely turn on or off appliances in a smart home environment. I
t also has a range of features that will make the product attractive to many types of users, including users who just want to monitor their energy usage. The product is available now and starts at £20 in the UK and $35 in the USA, although the exact price may vary in other countries.
When plugged into a standard outlet, the WeMo Insight Smart Plug functions as an additional outlet. You can then use Insight to monitor the energy consumption of any other devices you want, such as lights, coffee makers, space heaters, TVs, and so on.
The WeMo smartphone app and Insight work together to deliver real-time energy use data. The Insight may be turned on or off from anywhere using the app’s remote control. If you want more than one, it might become pricy, but it’s useful enough to make life easier on a daily basis.
2. TP-Link HS110 Smart Plug
The WIFI TP-Link HS110 Smart Plug is a very intelligent and flexible plug that controls electrical devices over a wireless connection. With the TP-Link HS110 Smart Plug, you can turn lights on and off or adjust your appliances from anywhere in the world!
It has a sleek design and a large LED indicator panel for visual feedback. It also has an extended range of up to 30 meters and can use the app to change multiple devices at once. The TP-Link HS110 Smart Plug is compatible with Alexa.
3. WiOn Smart Surge Protector
WiOn is a new line of surge protectors for mobile phones that protect your phone from power surges while you are on the road. You can easily plug in and charge your mobile phone anywhere with this portable and compact surge protector.
It has a built-in LED indicator light, a USB connector for charging your phone, a micro USB jack connecting your smartphone, and a built-in AC to DC converter. The LED light indicator can help you locate your phone in the dark. The WiOn Smart Surge Protector has the same function as the traditional desktop surge protector.
You can protect your phone from a power surge by blocking both high and low power supply (220-240V AC, 9-45V DC), and it works on a standard phone power adapter (110/220/240V AC, 9-45V DC). It can also charge up your phone using both the USB A and the USB C connectors.
4. Neurio Home Electricity Monitor (North American Version)
The Neurio Home Electricity Monitor is a great tool for anyone that loves their home. It allows you to monitor your home’s electric usage and is especially helpful for those that like to monitor their energy usage throughout the day.
The Neurio Home Electricity Monitor lets you know when your home uses more electricity than usual or when it is under any load. It will notify you when something is wrong. This allows you to know when to call an electrician or a power company and even when you need to call your electrical service provider.
The Neurio Home Electricity Monitor also lets you manage your energy consumption and can help you save money simultaneously.
5. Sense Energy Monitor
All of your electrical gadgets in the house may be “heard” by Sense Energy Monitor, which plugs into a breaker panel and “listens” for energy consumption patterns. In the Sense mobile app, you can see how many watts each appliance or gadget is using. There’s no need for a smart hub!
There are still specific devices that cannot be detected, but it is becoming better all the time. Sense may be upgraded to track solar energy output for $50 if you have solar panels in your home.
6. CURB Energy Monitoring System
In the same way that the aforementioned systems work, the CURB Energy Monitor connects to your breaker panel and measures how much energy you are using. Nevertheless, it contains a few goodies that the others do not have. For CURB, being “Mint for energy” means a lot (Mint the personal finance tracker).
Aside from pinpointing major energy leaks and saving you money by remotely controlling your power, this app also lets you define “energy budgets” for all of your home’s energy connections. Every appliance/device is identified by CURB once you have set it up once.
7. Brultech GreenEye Monitor
With the Brultech GreenEye Monitor, you can monitor up to 32 individual circuits from your home’s breaker panel, and the mobile app provides use statistics. In the Commercial edition, Brultech GEM can monitor multi-family properties.
Because it has four pulse output ports, Brultech GEM can read pulse outputs from water, gas, and motion detection systems. It can also read certain types of temperature sensors through an input.
