£149.50
Wattson Home Energy Meter
From: DIY Kyoto POVID: 51605
The Wattson - Voted Number 8 in Stuff Magazine's Top 10 Gadgets 2007
We like two things here at Ethicalsuperstore.com... well, we like loads of things really, but we like two things especially - saving the planet is one, and gadgets is the other. Imagine our delight then, when this little beauty landed on our doormat. It saves the planet, it looks cool, and (oh yes there's more!) it saves you money (up to 20% off your electricity bills in fact!), all at the same time. It's like an environmentally friendly swiss army knife, but without the thing for getting stuff out of horses hooves.
This ingenious little white box does all this because it displays the amount of electricity you are using at any given time, through a clever system of colours and numbers. Simply clip the wireless sensor onto your electricity meter (no electrician required!), and stick the Wattson somewhere you can see it (trust us, you'll want to see it), and watch as it tallies up the power you are using in real time, and tells you the associated cost. Wander round your house switching stuff off, and you'll see the power (and cost) savings in real time. Just don't blame us if you end up sitting in the dark for hours! Not that sitting in the dark is a bad thing, especially when the Wattson's ambient lighting kicks in - just remember that red means your energy usage is high, and blue means it's low. See, it's educational as well - is there anything this marvellous box can't do?
Wattson will measure up to 12.5kW for a single phase electricity supply (your average house) and up to 37.5kW for a three phase system. This makes Wattson suitable for homes and offices. If you're running a light industrial unit or have lots of things like cookers or commercial microwaves then you might want to contact us first.
Larger premises usually have 20-30mm cables that carry bigger supplies of electricity (manufacturing and baking are two typical examples) so this is something to check.
The Wattson can also be connected via USB to your computer (PC and Mac compatible) to download energy usage data, and you can also go online to see how your efforts are contributing to the global effort against climate change by fellow Wattson users.
Ben
8th Apr 2008
Wattson can be set to show currency as either Pounds, Yen, Euros or Dollars. If you're buying Wattson to use in Europe then please be aware that it is calibrated for the UK's 230V and not 220V, which leads to a 5% discrepancy in your readings.
Ben
20th Mar 2008
With regards to what happens if Wattson's batteries go flat - you won't lose your data, but you will not be collecting any data while the battery is flat, because the transmitter does not store any data.
Tom
24th Feb 2008
Q: Are both the CT's and the display unit powered by batteries. Can they be powered by mains? If not how long do the batteries last? If the batteries go flat do you lose your data.A: The transmitter (the bit that clips to the cable by your electricity meter/fusebox) is powered by 4 AA batteries. When you buy your Wattson you'll find that DIY Kyoto have supplied you with four good quality AA batteries in the box.
The batteries are
Duracell Procell, and these should last between 3 and 6 months. You can use rechargeable batteries in the transmitter, but they may only last for 2 -3 weeks because the power drainage characteristics mean that alkaline batteries are more suitable. We'll do some research to see if we can find some that will work.
The display unit has a built in battery pack which means that the Wattson can be carried around the house when you're hunting power vampires. If you're in numbers and colours mode (this uses about 5W of power), then the battery will last about 8 hours. When the battery starts getting low it will flick into low power mode (1W) so that you don't lose any data. You'll need to plug Wattson back in to the mains to charge up again.
Wattson comes with a charger in the box so that you can power it from the mains. Here are all the bits that come in the box:
If you're using Wattson in night mode (the display is switched off) then you may get up to 3 months out of the internal battery.
Even if you leave Wattson plugged in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in full numbers and colours mode (5 Watts) then it shouldn't cost more than £8 per year in additional electricity usage (at £0.13 per kWh).
My Wattson is by the front door, so that when I leave the house in the morning, I can just press the mode button on the top of the unit, and switch it into night mode when there is no one in.
Wattson uses EEPROM memory to store its data which means that it should be safe if the unit loses power completely. I'm just checking with the manufacturer now, so we should have a definitive answer for you soon.
I hope this answers your questions! :)
Karl
24th Feb 2008
Q: Mow many data points can the device store? John said "up to 4 weeks", but is that one point per day, per hour, minute, second or per millisecond?A: Wattson has a 32Kb non-volatile EEPROM internal memory, which stores data at five-minute intervals. This means means 288 values for every 24-hour period. Every five minute value has a cost (pence/cents, etc) assigned to it, which is stored at the time of readings collections. So historically recorded
readings and costs are not affected by current rates.
You have to connect Wattson up to your computer to download the information. You'll need the
holmes software to do this, and you can download it for free. Make sure you do a monthly download, or Wattson starts overwriting the oldest data first. You might lose some information if you forget. Wattson has a mini USB connector, and comes supplied with a USB lead in the box to enable you to hook it up to your computer.
Wattson is USB 1.0 and 2.0 compatible, and comes with a USB-A to USB mini-A cable.
mr r
22nd Feb 2008
Q: How is the Wattson powered, and how much power does it use itself ?
A: Wattson is powered by mains electricity, and uses about 8w of electricity when it's in colours and numbers mode. The display unit has an internal battery too, which means that you can use it for up to 8 hours unplugged from the mains. Thomas
Tom
29th Jan 2008
Q: How many days of data can the device store?
A: Wattson can store up to 4 weeks of energy-use history which can be uploaded to your computer via the USB lead.
Easy-to-use software (holmes) is available for your PC/Mac which will allow you to look at the history of your electricity use over a period of days, weeks or months. John
Caroline
8th Jan 2008
Q: We live in an old cottage with very thick walls, will this affect the operation of the wattson home energy meter?
A: According to the manufacturers the display can be located anywhere in your home (up to 100 meters away through air, or 30 meters through walls). John.
Mike
3rd Jan 2008
Q: Does this work on 3 phase supplies (I believe the efergy can accommodate 3 sensors which I need).
A: It most certainly can, but to do this
extra sensors are required. Wattson is supplied with one sensor - so to monitor a three phase supply two additional sensors will be required. These are available form us priced at £9.95 each. John.
Edward
2nd Jan 2008
Q: I see you say it will work with microgeneration systems. We have a 5kw PV array; does it show gross or net consumption - orseparately?
A: The Wattson can show both consumption and generation
* Able to measure microgenerated electricity supplies such as Solar Cells or Wind Turbines, providing a greater understanding of net energy use.
* Generated energy information shown on Wattson as generated energy, net consumption and total generated to date.
* Both generated and consumed energy stored in Wattson’s internal memory.
* All data can be viewed via Holmes – Wattson’s own personal data sleuth program.
* Simple installation of extra sensor
Sarah
30th Nov 2007
Q: Does the Wattson do the same as the Efergy energy meter or more?
A: The Wattson has some interesting features which you won't find on the Efergy notably USB PC/Mac data link and is supplied with PC/Mac data analysis software. It is the most versatile monitor in term of sensitivity and compatibility as it will work with both Economy 7 and Micro-generation systems. It also has ambient mood lighting!
Robin
13th Nov 2007
Q: How big is this? It looks like a really cool coffee table.
A: You might fit one cup of coffee on it but we wouldn't recommend that...
The display unit (pictured) is 105mm X 170mm x 55mm.
(and the transmitter is: 110mm x 84 mm x 26 mm) John.
Susan
13th Nov 2007
Q: Electric meters are usually outdoors these days, so how do you attach the Wattson to an outdoor meter?
A: The Wattson uses a electricity sensing device which is clipped onto a cable coming out of the electricity meter. That sensor is then connected to a battery-powered wireless transmitter which sends data to a display unit located up to 30 metres away. John
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