Electrcity usage monitors - advice

This is why my PCs are set to spin down drives, and turn off monitors etc etc after a period of time.
 
ToxicBunny said:
That is a bit more expensive....

I just like the way the Homebug does monitoring as well as basic control as well... makes it worth the money in concept for me. When I get it all installed, hopefully the concept will prove to work in reality as well.
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I just looked into homebug.
Jeez.
R930 for the base unit.
R350 for a single phase pickup
R475 for a geyser controller
R350 for a pool pump controller.

I wonder how much it will actually save...
 
Sinbad said:
I just looked into homebug.
Jeez.
R930 for the base unit.
R350 for a single phase pickup
R475 for a geyser controller
R350 for a pool pump controller.

I wonder how much it will actually save...
Click to expand...


I will let you guys know.
I was prepared to spend the money because of the possibility of doing some decent reporting on the figures, and just being able to control timers from a single web location.
 
I gave Ellies a call. They distribute the Efenergy products. Mark-up looks a little on the wild side when taking a straight Pound to Rand conversion at R15/p. Salesman also wasn't exactly clear on which kits they have as there are different ones in the same ranges. They also don't have the hub kit (wifi) yet.

e2 classic R1436.80
elite classic R1917.60 (not sure if this is the breaker kit or not)
mini sensor R126.75
extra large sensor R165
shower timer R225
monitoring socket R477.60
 
Wow. Efergy used to have direct agents here, I paid R900 for my e2 a couple of years back
 
For those that are vaguely interested, I have just installed my HomeBug unit (or at least mostly).. the unit itself is fitted a bit temporarily for now, until I get the conduit and all to make the install nice and neat.

I will update over the next few weeks with my findings.
 
I have fitted a few of these and find the OWL device works well and is very good value for money. It costs about 1/2 of other similar products
 
chrisc4290 said:
I have fitted a few of these and find the OWL device works well and is very good value for money. It costs about 1/2 of other similar products
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Yeah, I played with the OWL as well before jumping on the HomeBug option... It does the monitoring aspect very well.

I've chosen the HomeBug because it also has a web interface, and I can control my geysers and pool from it as well... so instead of clunky timers, its all digital now and available to me anywhere I want.
 
@ToxicBunny how's the HomeBug working out for you?

I see builders warehouse have some better pricing for the efergy monitors

efergy-builders.jpg

* poor quality image is as I got it from the PDF.
 
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morkhans said:
homebug.co.za is seriously scant on details. Are you paying the monthly site subscription?
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Thanks for the feedback, what additional details would you like to see on the site - I'll add any information that is missing.
 
ColinR said:
Thanks for the feedback, what additional details would you like to see on the site - I'll add any information that is missing.
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For a start pictures of each of the components as well as some screen shots of the web interface.

If you are feeling energetic a diagram of how all the bits fit together, possibly broken up (or highlighted) for each of the sections you list: Pool, Hot Water etc.
 
morkhans said:
For a start pictures of each of the components as well as some screen shots of the web interface.
Click to expand...

I've added pictures of the various components under the relevant services section - they are all pretty boring to look at - designed for installation in a DB board :)

morkhans said:
If you are feeling energetic a diagram of how all the bits fit together, possibly broken up (or highlighted) for each of the sections you list: Pool, Hot Water etc.
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I'm busy adding a technical page that will show diagrams of the modules connect together.
 
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morkhans said:
@ToxicBunny how's the HomeBug working out for you?

I see builders warehouse have some better pricing for the efergy monitors

* poor quality image is as I got it from the PDF.
Click to expand...


Its working very well for me so far.

I think with minimal tweaking I should see a R200 - R300 saving per month in my electricity, and obviously alot more once I get things properly
 
morkhans said:
If you are feeling energetic a diagram of how all the bits fit together, possibly broken up (or highlighted) for each of the sections you list: Pool, Hot Water etc.
Click to expand...

Technical page has been added. Let me know if there is anything that is still ambiguous, and I'll see if I can make it clearer.
 
ColinR said:
Technical page has been added. Let me know if there is anything that is still ambiguous, and I'll see if I can make it clearer.
Click to expand...

Thanks, the diagrams look really nice. Might be worth making them clickable for a full size image. Some seem to have been bigger than others and the resize makes some of the text difficult to read.

I also had a quick look at your manual. Some minor formatting issues I can see (not nitpicking, some people like to know these things).
1) Filename states v2, but the name is still v1
2) Page title is [User Guide [Homebug] - not sure if the intention was to leave out the ] to enclose user guide
3) Item 3 - Electricity Usage should probably be no. 4 (and increment everything else with 1).
4) Header and sub headers along with numbering are a little inconsistent. Some places you have a medium font for subsections and below that numbered lists. Other places you don't have the medium font and dive straight into numbered lists. Look at Configuration vs. Lighting.
 
morkhans said:
Might be worth making them clickable for a full size image. I also had a quick look at your manual...<snip>
Click to expand...

Thanks again for the feedback, we have updated the site and manual. Hopefully we have made our product easier to understand for a first time viewer.
 
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