Problem using OWL Wireless Energy Monitor

angeldaisy

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this? Mods please move if necessary.

I've just bought one of these OWL wireless energy monitor and followed the instructions. I connected the sensor clip to the insulated wire in my esb box which is outside, not sure if this is right. There are 3 wires, a brown, a blue and a yellow/green one. I connected it to the yellow/green one and tried to set it up, but the monitor screen is showing 0 usage, which according to the instructions there is no current detected. Am I doing something wrong?
There is a note in the manual about a 3-phase supply, could this be what I have. the house was built in 2002

Davy

I haven't seen an owl, but i imagine that it needs to be placed on the 'phase' which is the brown cable. The green and yellow is the earth/neutraliser, and shouldn't have current on it so thats correct.

Just change the sensor to the brown and see does it work. Also, i wouldn't say you have 3ph either. Wont houses dont.

Raiser

Hi Daisy!

Could you please post back any impressions you have of this device in a few days and if recommended, details of where to buy

Raiser

indie armada

we sell the owls in our place, it should be on the phase, ie the brown like davy says. you need a clamp per phase so if you had 3 phase you would need 3 clamps and it monitors them individually. good feedback from customers about them and never had one back faulty yet.

angeldaisy

thanks for the advice, connected it to the brown and low and behold works perfectly. Had it running this afternoon and it's sat next to me at the minute. It's easy to program and easy to read, I bought it because my esb bills are horrendous and I don't know why.
I will post back in a couple of days and let you know how I get on with it.

btw got it from amazon and paid about 32 stg for it with free delivery.

angeldaisy

angeldaisy wrote: »

thanks for the advice, connected it to the brown and low and behold works perfectly. Had it running this afternoon and it's sat next to me at the minute. It's easy to program and easy to read, I bought it because my esb bills are horrendous and I don't know why.
I will post back in a couple of days and let you know how I get on with it.

btw got it from amazon and paid about 32 stg for it with free delivery.

Well I've had the owl up and running for just over a week now and have found it really interesting to see how it works. I was amazed at how much electricity somethings were using, such as my reading lamp, and how little other things used, like the TV.

Anyway I've used (according to the owl) 68kw in a week, but according to my esb bill I've used 2358kw over a 64 day period which works out at roughly 257kw per week :eek: (info from my May bill)

Can this be right? Does anyone have any idea what might have been using so much energy? I can't remember if I had any heating on during those months, but that would have been the only difference?

It will be interesting to see what my next bill comes in at.

Davy

Was the bill estimated?

angeldaisy

Davy wrote: »

Was the bill estimated?

it was.. but I checked it when it came and it wasn't out by much at all

10-10-20

Start turning off the breakers in the fuse box.
I did this with my Owl after I found that the 'house' was using 64W constantly.
Turns out to be the utility room circuit - I just haven't figured out what device in the utility room yet...

frankstar

The wattson energy monitor has the same capabilities but looks great and has many more added features such as being able to download the stored data to the holmes software.
There you can analyse your energy usage and see how it is being reduced or even export to .CSV file. It also measures production versus consumption for microgenerators so you know when its a good time to turn on your washing machine!
Check out www.wattson.ie

drBill

angeldaisy wrote: »

Anyway I've used (according to the owl) 68kw in a week.

Does your one actually accumulate total power (KWH) used? Can I ask where you got it?
My one, which is about two years old, only displays your current (no pun intended) consumption. It doesn't accumulate any totals or collect any historical data, which I've always thought would be nice. But otherwise it's a nice little gadget and certainly helps keep you aware of how much juice you're using.

stapeler

I've been using the Owl CM113 for the past year and find it excellent, The kids are now conditioned to keep an eye on it and turn off unnecessary appliances around the house, then they comment on how much we're saving and does that translate into increased pocket money?
It doesn't record total energy used but Owl do have this USB connect device that allows you to connect to a PC and record all historical data. Only negative is that the PC has to remain switched on to collect all data

angeldaisy

drBill wrote: »

Does your one actually accumulate total power (KWH) used? Can I ask where you got it?
My one, which is about two years old, only displays your current (no pun intended) consumption. It doesn't accumulate any totals or collect any historical data, which I've always thought would be nice. But otherwise it's a nice little gadget and certainly helps keep you aware of how much juice you're using.

I got mine from Amazon and according to it, my accumulative day power use is now 500 kw/h since I first got it. the one I have is the wireless monitor. I find it very useful, albeit scary when I see how much it costs to switch an ordinary light on!

barryd09

Is it possible to use these in an apartment?
I dont have access to the electricity box,just the fuse board thats inside the apartment,no wires coming out of it,only the fuses.

Bruthal

barryd09 wrote: »

Is it possible to use these in an apartment?
I dont have access to the electricity box,just the fuse board thats inside the apartment,no wires coming out of it,only the fuses.

It is possible to fit in the MCB board in the apartment, but the current sensor has to be fitted around the main conductor from the main switch. Its not really a DIY job to fit it here. But an electrician can fit it, if you know one. I fitted one in my house this way.

rolion

Bruthal wrote: »

It is possible to fit in the MCB board in the apartment, but the current sensor has to be fitted around the main conductor from the main switch. Its not really a DIY job to fit it here. But an electrician can fit it, if you know one. I fitted one in my house this way.

Sorry to bring back an oldish thread...

SO the CT sensor has to beconnected ONLY outside beside the meter AND not inside,beside the fuse board !??

Pease see below a photo of my today's setup,i have the version with PV solar.
Thanks in advance:

Stoner

What's the question?

I guess there's a few reasons to have it outside the box,
To keep it away from a bunch of cables from a safety point of view
To keep it away from a bunch of cables from an interference and accuracy point of view.

The more current flows around the CT will impact on its ability to operate accurately.

You can only measure the output from the solar panel on the live cable, but also the better fit that cable is in the CT the better.

Still not sure if there was a question to be honest or is it just for information ?

rolion

Hi,

My Q was if the CT will make any difference if mounted external beside the meter OR internal beside the fuse panel.

My readings are masively incorrect.
I took the meter readings and compared with OWL...huge difference,OWL interface is counting more.

Thanks

Stoner

rolion wrote:

My Q was if the CT will make any difference if mounted external beside the meter OR internal beside the fuse panel.

You'd want it as clean as possible, so if you have access to the cable that allows the CT to be installed in an area free from other cables then I'd try that.

Bruthal

rolion wrote: »

Hi,

My Q was if the CT will make any difference if mounted external beside the meter OR internal beside the fuse panel.

My readings are masively incorrect.
I took the meter readings and compared with OWL...huge difference,OWL interface is counting more.

Thanks

It shouldn't make much difference where it is. I have a monitor clamp in the DB and it works fine.

Have you orientated the sensors the right way according to the diagram for the pv setup?

Stoner

Bruthal wrote:

It shouldn't make much difference where it is. I have a monitor clamp in the DB and it works fine.

Maybe but I'm assuming that the advise is mainly for health and safety reasons , ie that non trained people do not open consumer units and mess around near busbar

Bruthal

Stoner wrote: »

Maybe but I'm assuming that the advise is mainly for health and safety reasons , ie that non trained people do not open consumer units and mess around near busbar

Yes operationally I meant it shouldnt make much difference. Safety wise is a different matter alright.

noel100

I have one of these and it basically an amp clamp with a wireless connection.
I have it clamped 1 single cable and that is brown cable no issue.

Bruthal

Yea they are in fact a grip ammeter and not a watt meter.

In the case of the PV setup with several clamps, if one is backward relative to the other, the generated power may be added to the utility power in the monitor readings, rather than subtracted, giving a larger reading than the utility meter.

NIMAN

I bought one of these but could never get it up and running as the brown cable in my box was too tight and I couldn't get the clamp around it..really disappointed as I was interested to find out what everything in the house was using.

Never been used, still fully boxed, if anyone would be interested in buying it, I'mm sure we could come to a deal.

Stoner

Stick it on adverts you'll have it gone soon enough I think

rolion

Hi All,

Problem fixed.
Contacted the TechSupport and it looks like a RTFM issue.
They asked me to rotate a sensor and ...all looks and reads fine now !!!

capailldubh

Hi Folks
On a different note, I hava an older Owl meter. I have four led tubes that are 18w each. When I switch them on, the Owl jumps up around 400w. If I put a seperate watt meter on them, it shows around 80w. Any ideas on how to get an accurate reading or should I upgrade the Owl?