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The "Electrisave" (or "Centameter" as it was originally
marketed in Australia) is an electricity metering device
that uses wireless technology to bring the Energy Meter
inside the house where the data can be easily monitored from
the comfort of an armchair.
The device can
show the electricity usage in KwH, monetary value or units
of CO2. It also shows humidity and temperature (which is
probably more relevant to those in warmer climates - like
Australia, where air-conditioning usage is more common than
it is in Northern Europe).
The Brochure
Claim is that the device can save you 25% off your
electricity bills. Of course it does no such thing directly.
The 25% claim comes from real research so it is in no way
meant to be misleading, however its effect on people is to
make them more conscious about their electricity usage.
However, if you already are very conscious about your usage
then this possibly has zero - or worse - negative effect upon your
consumption. If you have lived a very wasteful life and walk
around your house turning EVERYTHING on all the time then,
sure, this will be an eye-opener. The research applies this
kind of energy metering to homes and families who live a
very average (read:- rich, western, northern or Australian)
life. Yes, it should be very effective in raising your
consciousness if you were previously completely careless
about your usage.
However, this
doesn't mean we are cynical about the Electrisave. We just
urge caution. It is designed to change your habits. If your
habits had already changed then its effect is limited.
Experiences shows that it provides interesting levels of
information about household usage. For example, one sample
house showed a continuous load of 0.4KwH at all times. This
completely mystified the householder and lead to further
lines of enquiry. So, it has its uses.
Another good use
is for householders with microgeneration systems. Although
it cannot tell you the direction of electricity travel (in or
out) you can generally guess. For example, if you have a
Photovoltaic array on the roof and the sun comes out watch
the Electrisave. If the value goes up then it is showing the
net Export value. It can also provide a crude indication of
the power usage of devices in your home for which there is
no other way of measuring their power requirement. An
example are the lights, central heating system, house alarm,
and so on.
There a couple of drawbacks though. There is a 'Send' Unit
and a Receiver/Display Unit. The Send Unit clamps around a
cable in your Meter Box. however, it isn't that easy to find
out which cable this is and we are sure many buyers would be
initially frustrated to find that it doesn't work because
they have the wrong cable. It isn't clear that you cannot
clamp it to a cable with Live, Negative and Earth Cables
inside. It must only be the Live Cable from Meter to House
Main Fuse Board. If you know what that is then this is a
good start.
The system
requires lots of AA Batteries. It also drains these
batteries very fast. Obviously you should use rechargeables
but experience shows these do not last very long either.
This is doubly a problem because the 'Send' Unit is clamped
around a cable in your Meter Box which is likely to be
outside the house! Hence it isn't always convenient to
replace the batteries. What is even worse is that the Battery
Compartment on the Send Unit has to be unscrewed. Hence you
need a screwdriver. This would probably drive the average
householder crazy and many would simply stop using it in
frustration. Batteries cost money. The Electrisave costs
money. Running it costs money and it consumes energy. Unless
it is really useful to you then the money might be better
spent elsewhere. |
