Re:Wattvision (YC W09): The Tale of the Mystery Load
by joelhaasnoot on Saturday January 15, 2011 @02:06PM
(#2107543)
It can be done relatively cheap by reverse engineering a $15 power meter you get at home depot and combining with $10 worth of electronic parts and a $20 Arduino. Was a college project, and we blew up 5 meters before it worked. Working with 220V (or 110V) right next to 5V can be dangerous and not an easy "electronics problem".
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Re:Wattvision (YC W09): The Tale of the Mystery Load
by brianwhitman on Saturday January 15, 2011 @02:51PM
(#2107637)
it is my understanding that Wattvision taps the entire electrical system via the meter, not just a single outlet like a $15 "kill-a-watt" style power meter will.
Re:Wattvision (YC W09): The Tale of the Mystery Load
by joelhaasnoot on Monday January 17, 2011 @12:00PM
(#2112659)
That's true, but you need a combination of the two: both general and appliance-specific measurements. Like the post says: it's hard to figure out where power usage is coming from.
If you have more specific data and combine it with simple switching, you can achieve a much better awareness and higher savings. And the hardware doesn't have to be expensive as the "kill-a-watt" devices show.