Android App shows total power usage home

[Ron]

Instantaneously knowing how much Watt your entire house uses with
Android App called iStrohm is possible from today.

iStrohm works by clocking one round of your fuse box rotating disk,
showing immediate total Watt usage.

Alternative Apps also exist, but they require manual input of the kWh
consumption and do not show current Watt usage, which makes
energy-measuring and energy-saving a very time-consuming task.

iStrohm makes serious energy-savings an easy do within minutes task.

Offered for only € 1,99 at the Google Play Store for Android phones.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cloggsoft

iPhone users will also find iStrohm soon at the Apple AppStore, where it
currently is waiting for review.

 

[mike]

There are a couple of free Android apps for that.

The Web version is here:
http://www.jecarter.us/apps/KWCalculator/

and the standalone app is here:
http://www.jecarter.us/apps/KWCalculator.apk

Might as well give the goodies away as I was "SmartMeter"ed recently.
In spite of the variety of meters available, the new meter they
installed is one of the few with no simple means of access :-(

That's too bad. I was lucky enough to get one with the blinky infrared LED.
I can just point my PalmIII at it and log/graph consumption.

 

[Ecnerwal]

All you need to get a disk readout is a watch, if you have a disk
meter...perhaps a calculator as well, both of which are probably built
into your cell phone, even if it's not a "smartphone."

For a not-huge chunk of change and one visit of a licensed electrician
competent to disconnect your main wire, run it through a current
transformer, and reconnect it, you can have a much more convenient
method to look at your usage from inside the house. An ammeter is the
simplest readout to connect, or you can have an actual power meter if
you wish to be fussy (if the voltage varies enough that an ammeter is
not a pretty direct reading of your power used, you have fairly poor
power supply.) It's also a lot more like instantaneous, which something
depending on disk rotation is going to be a far cry from - if there's
even a rotating disk - modern meters, even if not "smart" are often just
an LCD display. A current transformer updates in real time, while the
disk only tells you every few seconds if you are using lots of power, or
every few minutes if you are using a small amount of power.

That's a hardware solution, of course, but beats the heck out of
standing around by the meter pointing your phone at it, if you want
ongoing monitoring. You can even datalog it with a computer and make
fancy charts. Whether that will actually affect your power use patterns
kinda depends on you.

 

[mike]

All you need to get a disk readout is a watch, if you have a disk
meter...perhaps a calculator as well, both of which are probably built
into your cell phone, even if it's not a "smartphone."

For a not-huge chunk of change and one visit of a licensed electrician
competent to disconnect your main wire, run it through a current
transformer, and reconnect it, you can have a much more convenient
method to look at your usage from inside the house.

You can buy a clip-on current monitor for far less than the cost of
an electrician.



An ammeter is the

simplest readout to connect, or you can have an actual power meter if
you wish to be fussy (if the voltage varies enough that an ammeter is
not a pretty direct reading of your power used, you have fairly poor
power supply.)

Depending on how many phases you have, you may need 2 or 3 current meters.

An ammeter will let you calculate volt-amps. That is NOT the power
that you pay for. You need phase information to calculate real power.
That's why monitoring the electric company meter is best. It reads out
exactly what you're paying for.

It's also a lot more like instantaneous, which something

depending on disk rotation is going to be a far cry from - if there's
even a rotating disk - modern meters, even if not "smart" are often just
an LCD display.

Meters vary. Mine has a simulated wheel on the LCD display plus
an infrared LED that flashes (once per second at 3600W).

A current transformer updates in real time, while the

disk only tells you every few seconds if you are using lots of power, or
every few minutes if you are using a small amount of power.

Give some examples of why you'd need instantaneous readouts and data
integrated accurately over a few seconds wouldn't work.

 

[Jim Wilkins]

The Web version is here:
http://www.jecarter.us/apps/KWCalculator/

and the standalone app is here:
http://www.jecarter.us/apps/KWCalculator.apk

For those of us who still have slide rules, this shows how to
calculate power by timing the meter rotor:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_meter

The Kill-A-Watt EZ can predict the cost of using an appliance for a
month from a typical day's use, such as making coffee. It breaks down
electricity use to the level where you can make choices, unlike
measuring the entire house. It won't help with wired lights or 240V
loads, but you can capture infrequent short-duration ones like a
clothes dryer from meter readings.

jsw

 

[Ron]

Op 13-07-12 wk 28 02:30, [email protected] schreef:

There are a couple of free Android apps for that.

The Web version is here:
http://www.jecarter.us/apps/KWCalculator/

and the standalone app is here:
http://www.jecarter.us/apps/KWCalculator.apk

Might as well give the goodies away as I was "SmartMeter"ed recently.
In spite of the variety of meters available, the new meter they
installed is one of the few with no simple means of access :-(

The KWCalculator does miscalculate completely
600 r/kWh at 6 seconds rotation = 360 Watts?
This is completely wrong!!!

iStrohm only costs 1 beer for crying out loud and is mobile and does the
job correctly and in a user-friendly and fun way!

 

[Ron]

Op 13-07-12 wk 28 03:44, Ecnerwal schreef:

All you need to get a disk readout is a watch, if you have a disk
meter...perhaps a calculator as well, both of which are probably built
into your cell phone, even if it's not a "smartphone."

For a not-huge chunk of change and one visit of a licensed electrician
competent to disconnect your main wire, run it through a current
transformer, and reconnect it, you can have a much more convenient
method to look at your usage from inside the house. An ammeter is the
simplest readout to connect, or you can have an actual power meter if
you wish to be fussy (if the voltage varies enough that an ammeter is
not a pretty direct reading of your power used, you have fairly poor
power supply.) It's also a lot more like instantaneous, which something
depending on disk rotation is going to be a far cry from - if there's
even a rotating disk - modern meters, even if not "smart" are often just
an LCD display. A current transformer updates in real time, while the
disk only tells you every few seconds if you are using lots of power, or
every few minutes if you are using a small amount of power.

That's a hardware solution, of course, but beats the heck out of
standing around by the meter pointing your phone at it, if you want
ongoing monitoring. You can even datalog it with a computer and make
fancy charts. Whether that will actually affect your power use patterns
kinda depends on you.

What a long story iStrohm is dirt cheap!

 

[Jim Wilkins]

Op 13-07-12 wk 28 03:44, Ecnerwal schreef:

What a long story iStrohm is dirt cheap!

But the phone isn't, and these are alternatives for those who don't
have them.

jsw

 

[Ecnerwal]

only costs 1 beer for crying out loud and is mobile and does the
job correctly and in a user-friendly and fun way!

Why buy beer for a spammer who drinks cheap beer?

 

[Ron]

Op 13-07-12 wk 28 19:11, Ecnerwal schreef:

Why buy beer for a spammer who drinks cheap beer?

Such negative vibes guys, you need to get out more...

 

[Jim Wilkins]

Op 13-07-12 wk 28 19:11, Ecnerwal schreef:

Such negative vibes guys, you need to get out more...

Welcome to the Internet.