© Proeye Communications & Security Systems 2013
The EnviR by Current Cost is a great tool with the
following features and functions.
•
Intuitive and easy to understand
•
Enter electricity tariffs (two can be entered)
•
Optional additional current probes for three-phase
measuring
•
Measures temperature, which is a useful tool for
analysing temperature controlled devices such as
fridges, air-conditioners
•
The display screen is mains powered, it uses
under 1 watt, or less than $1 annually to operate
•
The transmitter is powered by two D-size batteries
(included), which provide up to seven years
continuous operation
•
Signal range is up to 50 metres, employing
433.92MHz FM data transmission
•
Data can be downloaded to your computer or
uploaded to online services using the optional
cabling or Ethernet Bridge device
•
The monitor stores up to seven years of monthly
kWh consumption data (90 days for daily kWh)
•
Available are additional optional individual
appliance monitors, to separately monitor
household item usage or the energy created from
solar power system
•
How much power are you
leaving on while asleep or
away from home?
•
How much does your air
conditioner, fridge, TV, or
computers cost to run?
•
Are your utility bills high?
•
Want to identify the
optimal temperature range
to set your air-conditioner
or ducted heating?
•
An energy monitor can
inform about your
electricity use, up to the
moment, hourly, daily
weekly, or monthly.
•
100 Watts of continuous
energy use equates to 2.4
kilowatt hours (kWh) per
day. At a rate of 30 cents
per kWh = 72 Cents per
day or $64.80 every 90
days.
It is difficult to understand how to reduce your running costs unless you have the
tools to measure it, and analyse the data, but some of the following tips can help
you save money.
Reduce hot water heater level. Some people set their hot water system to heat
at maximum level, which could be 70 degrees Celsius. The higher the hot water
temperature, exponentially increases the amount of energy required to maintain
the water temperature, especially in the winter. One of the reasons of maintaining
hot temperatures in hot water is to reduce the risk of bacteria’s and Legionnella.
Maintaining high hot water temperatures also increases the risk of scalding,
especially to children and the elderly. According to the Canadian Journal of
Infectious diseases, it is safer to reduce the water temperature to 49 to 50
degrees Celsius. Check with local authorities about the safe temperature to set
your water, to ensure you don’t create a bio-risk such as legionella, but take
advantage of savings by reducing the temperature, and reducing the risk of burns.
Reduce your indoor heating temperature, in the winter. Reduce the
temperature to your heating or air-conditioning system anywhere between 17 to
20 degrees Celsius and wear a jumper in the winter. Many people set their
heating systems up to 25 degrees Celsius. The greater the difference between the
indoor and out door temperature will exponentially require more energy to
maintain the indoor temperature.
Replace, old thermostats, they cause more energy waste
Old bi-metal type thermostats cause heaters and air-conditioning systems to
maintain temperature in the premise with large temperature swings ranging from
3 to 5 degrees Celsius. The large temperature variations causes the occupants to
feel cold, therefore they raise the temperature to compensate. Also inaccurate
under-reading thermostats cause users to heat up the home at higher
temperatures, therefore using more energy. New digital thermostats, especially
the energy star rated thermostats can better manage the indoor climate, reduce
large temperature fluctuations, and employ programmable features that allow
users to optimise settings and climate conditions throughout the day and night,
saving you money.
Replace the old fridge
Old fridges can be highly in-efficient and use large amounts of electricity to cool
the contents. As the refrigerant levels drop from general use, the fridge
compressor works harder and uses more energy to cool the contents, to the point
where the fridge gas is completely gone. Check and replace old in-efficient
fridges.
About the Envi R
If you can measure it, then you can fix it!
Tips to reduce running costs
Installed at your premise from $200
for Melbourne Metro Clients!
Electricity Usage.
There are a range of products out in the market place that can effectively assist in measuring and monitoring electricity usage. We recommend and use
the Current Cost EnviR series meters from Smart Now, as they provide simple up to the moment electricity use, which employs wireless technology to
transmit the information to the supplied LCD monitor, that can be plugged in anywhere in your home or office.
The EnviR can also be supplied with an Ethernet interface so energy use and temperature can be transmitted to Current Costs web application for daily
monitoring. EnviR enables you to effectively monitor, analyse, and make adjustments to reduce your electricity use, identify devices which consume too
much energy, or identify items due for replacement such as old fridges, and identify devices that can be optimised or better managed such as TV’s, air-
conditioning, or standby sources using lots of power.
We have been using the EnviR since May 2010 and have reduced our energy use by an average of 20%, because we were able to monitor and make
adjustments.
A Melbourne Company learned to saves up to $3000 per year by using the EnviR meter, Blog by Switchwise.com.au
Real Power Meter Data