The Energy Detective

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it.
Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (November 2006)

The Energy Detective, also known as TED, is an energy demand feedback device that promotes energy conservation by making residential consumers aware of how much electrical energy is being used in their homes.

Essentially, TED is no different from the utility company energy meter on the outside of a residence, but it is displayed indoors at a place where it can be conveniently read, and displays some extra computations of interest to a consumer. The device comes in two parts - an electromagnetic transducer that sits at the power mains to measure the total power usage and transmits it over the power wiring, and a receiver device that receives the signal and displays it to the user.

TED tracks kilowatt-hours, and optionally computes cents per hour and estimates the month's electric bill.

TED's transmitter only transmits its signal over a single phase of household wiring. Most houses have two incoming phases divided evenly throughout the house. TED's receiver usually can only receive if it's plugged into an outlet on the same phase as its transmitter. A phase bridge, such as one compatible with X10 home automation equipment, can overcome this limitation. Despite TED's ability to only transmit over a single phase, it does include the necessary equipment to properly measure power usage on both phases.

One research project by the Florida Solar Energy Center [1] has successfully used the device to develop a protocol which can be used to inventory the electrical demand of all household appliances.[2] This same research has installed the device in twenty households with the intention to evaluate pre/post household behavior after a year of having the device available. Research results will be available in early 2008.

A similar project in Ontario using 500 PowerCost Monitors against a control group over a year long period found an electricity reduction of 6.5% by simply having real-time energy feedback available to consumers.

A notable competitor to TED is the EV100 Energy Viewer, a wall-mounted power meter that fits in a single light-switch gangbox and displays the same information. However, the Energy Viewer does not currently display true power, but apparent power (volts * amps).

Another notable competitor is the PowerCost Monitor whose manufacturer recently signed a deal with a Northern Ontario local utility company for the purchase of 30,000 units for its residents. The TED device has a greater measurement resolution (10 watts versus 100).

Another similar product sold as Kill-A-Watt is a meter that measures the power consumption of a single appliance. It measures both instantaneous consumption and daily totals for intermittent loads like refrigerators. It plugs in between the device and wall outlet requiring no wiring modifications. It resolves down to one watt, allowing it to measure standby power.