Power monitor measures cumulative and spot energy consumption

Home automation and security is one of the five industry segments that we follow on the Digital Home DesignLine. Some day we'll presumably all have Zigbee-enabled smart homes and have instantaneous access to power usage data. In fact we've run several articles describing that scenario (See related links below). Today, however, most homes don't have comprehensive home automation networks and power usage is solely gauged by the local electric company.

When I first saw the Black & Decker Power Monitor, I was immediately interested because our utility bills are excessive. Several factors drive the high power bills. Generally speaking, power rates are relatively high in Southern California where I live. I work at home and therefore consume power for computers and other equipment all day. I also have to run the air conditioner to cool my work space more than typical residents in the relatively moderate San Diego climate.

I also know that my family wastes power. I covered the so called vampire power concept in a blog post over on the Power Management DesignLine. Vampire power is the energy wasted by appliances such as TVs that still use power in standby mode waiting for a remote control input, and by chargers for various battery-powered devices that use small amounts of power even when not charging a device. Guidelines such as Energy Star have certainly reduced standby power. And guidelines around the world have mandated more efficient AC/DC power converters. But the typical home still bleeds power. In my house, we have a lot of power converters and we don't have the best habits in making sure that things are unplugged when not in use.

Figure 1: The sensor unit mounts on a power meter and uses a photo detector to sense the rotation of the mechanical wheel inside the meter.
(Click this image to view a larger, more detailed version)

With no smart meter in my immediate future, I installed the Power Monitor sensor on my meter. Black & Decker literature indicated that the product works with most meters in the US. The web site includes a simple graphic that consumers can view to determine if their meter will work with the monitor. In short, the sensor works with meters that have the traditional mechanical wheel that spins as the home consumer power. It also works with some meters that have a single optical port that can transmit power usage information.