EV Cars/Trucks

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I run a home energy monitor, and in the past 12 months our cars have used 2,661 KWh compared to our other usage of 5,023 KWh. So in our case, EV usage is about 50% of our house's usage.

I'd be really curious to know where in the world a 13x number came from. Obviously not reality, but it's a bit random.

Maybe Im overestimating the amount I charge at home since I do use Superchargers alot at Hyvee 13x sounds way high.

[SurroundedByMorons]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I run a home energy monitor, and in the past 12 months our cars have used 2,661 KWh compared to our other usage of 5,023 KWh. So in our case, EV usage is about 50% of our house's usage.

I'd be really curious to know where in the world a 13x number came from. Obviously not reality, but it's a bit random.

Which home energy monitor do you use? Do you like/recommend?

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by SurroundedByMorons

Which home energy monitor do you use? Do you like/recommend?

I'm using this one from Emporia Energy. It takes some level of tech savvy to install and configure, but their tech support via chat is really good at helping you work through things.

I like it better than the popular one from Sense, though. Where Sense just monitors overall use and then tries to use AI to identify what's what, the Emporia monitor can measure each circuit individually, which seems like it'd be far more accurate.

The Emporia one can be a little bit of a rat's nest once you install it, but it all just hides in your breaker box anyway. Here's a photo of mine just to give you the idea.

My only complaint is that the app is just OK, and there are a lot of "features" that just say coming soon...and have said that ever since I got it 2 years ago. But they're not critical, so if you're just looking for the basic function of measuring usage by circuit, it works fine. I believe the app has a demo mode that you can download to get a feel for how it would work before you buy.

[SurroundedByMorons]

Originally Posted by DaFace

I'm using this one from Emporia Energy. It takes some level of tech savvy to install and configure, but their tech support via chat is really good at helping you work through things.

I like it better than the popular one from Sense, though. Where Sense just monitors overall use and then tries to use AI to identify what's what, the Emporia monitor can measure each circuit individually, which seems like it'd be far more accurate.

The Emporia one can be a little bit of a rat's nest once you install it, but it all just hides in your breaker box anyway. Here's a photo of mine just to give you the idea.

My only complaint is that the app is just OK, and there are a lot of "features" that just say coming soon...and have said that ever since I got it 2 years ago. But they're not critical, so if you're just looking for the basic function of measuring usage by circuit, it works fine. I believe the app has a demo mode that you can download to get a feel for how it would work before you buy.

Appreciate the detail. Has it saved you any money? I feel like my power bill is too high for what we have, so I have been looking at these products to get a detailed baseline. Curious if it will show an appliance running 24/7 or if it will be adding yet another electronic device sucking power...

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by SurroundedByMorons

Appreciate the detail. Has it saved you any money? I feel like my power bill is too high for what we have, so I have been looking at these products to get a detailed baseline. Curious if it will show an appliance running 24/7 or if it will be adding yet another electronic device sucking power...

Eh, tough to say. I originally got it to help troubleshoot some problems we were having with our AC, and it did do that. (My HVAC guy was impressed that I could give him a chart that showed the exact second the condenser shut off.)

Beyond that, it's helped me to understand how much energy it takes to run my furnace blower 24/7 and allowed me to fine tune the right blower speed to balance circulation and cost.

Most everything else is mostly just for fun, but it's definitely interesting. Depending on what you're trying to troubleshoot, a Kill A Watt meter costs like $30 and can help you understand the energy usage of anything that plugs into a standard 120 outlet. That's where I'd start if you don't already have one. I use mine all the time to get a feel for how much juice random appliances are pulling.

[SurroundedByMorons]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Eh, tough to say. I originally got it to help troubleshoot some problems we were having with our AC, and it did do that. (My HVAC guy was impressed that I could give him a chart that showed the exact second the condenser shut off.)

Beyond that, it's helped me to understand how much energy it takes to run my furnace blower 24/7 and allowed me to fine tune the right blower speed to balance circulation and cost.

Most everything else is mostly just for fun, but it's definitely interesting. Depending on what you're trying to troubleshoot, a Kill A Watt meter costs like $30 and can help you understand the energy usage of anything that plugs into a standard 120 outlet. That's where I'd start if you don't already have one. I use mine all the time to get a feel for how much juice random appliances are pulling.

Appreciate the response! I have thought about the kill-a-watt approach, but my biggest questions are around my hvac that includes a whole home dehumidifier that runs 24/7 (we have no idea why) and 2x hot water heaters (we didn't ask for 2). We did have an issue our main fridge that ran almost 24/7 until it was repaired. On top of it all, we likely have an insulation issue that needs to be rectified this summer. New houses are so much fun!

Either way, I think I am going to order your solution and see if it helps. Thanks again.