Wednesday, August 8, 2007
The Energy Detective — TED 1000
Over the last few months I’ve been trying to do my part in reducing my power usage. It’s very hard given that I have a ton of electronic devices/gadgets/computers running daily. I’m in the process of finally finishing up my Automation UI/Server (completely rewrote the HAI connection library in .NET) and wanted to add/display my current power usage some way into my UI. So from anywhere in the would I could control my house, see my security camera’s, control my audio system, and see my current power usage. I found that the TED 1000 could handle my needs and ordered one… I have to say, it is one of the best electronic devices I have ever bought. Here’s why:
- Installs in under 15 minutes (need to be comfortable with wiring inside your power panel)
- It costs under $175
- It has already saved me over $50 in one month of usage
- Displays current voltage, current wattage (KWH), peak for month, peak day, KWH today, KWH month, KWH Month To Date, KWH Projected. It also has the ability to show real-time cost (you program the rates into the TED)
- It has a serial port (API not yet published) where you can connect with a PC and poll the data — Key feature in getting this data to my UI’s!
This gadget becomes a game, where you try to see how low you can get your KWH. Before TED… I was running at 1.500KWH, now I’m at .980!! I know there are devices like the Kill-A-Watt
, but the TED 1000 is better because you can see your whole house power usage updated every second — plus once the serial port API become available, the uses are endless… how ‘bout, if the power usage spikes above a certain treshold, say when my wife is blow drying her hair… I turn off the outlet in the bathroom, then announce over the whole house audio system via the HAI and Rusound CAV some annoying message…
Do us all a favor and buy a TED 1000 and help cut your energy usage by half! I will have my TED 1000 paid for in 3 months — for sure!
TED 1000 — Product Page
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COMMENTS
Great device - I’m curious, though; practically, how did it save you $50 in one month?
Ali,
I was paying $123.00 for my electric part last month. This month I wll be around $70. I adjusted my outdoor lighting at night and have turned off electronics that I thought were not sucking much power off.
Danny
Good blog here!
Tried clicking on link for the product page for TED 1000, but it is linked as a “mailto:” so it opens my e-mail client rather than a webpage. Just thought you might want to know.
I am impatiently waiting for mine to arrive. I am also curious how you figured out how to get the serial out. I am told that the manufacture will announce it to us in a few months. In the mean time I would like to receive data from it to graph it. I’ll do my own programming.
I also wonder why Ted B. would want bidirectional. I can’t imagine what I would want to send to it.
I have an Omni II and a TED and would be willing to test your new UI if you’re sharing this.
Let me know
Just received my TED1001 and was curious to know what was in the RDU so I took it apart; here are pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25092995@N00/sets/72157604067528077/
Does anyone know ifthey publiched and API yet for this? They state they use .NET so it would be great if they could expose some methods so we can develop custom applciations for this device.
Don’t get one of these if you are on a delta power system. It only reads half you KWH.
The delta distribution is used in Queens and Brooklyn NY. perhaps other States as well.
You can tell by checking your voltage, if you have 120v on each leg and 208 between then, you on a delta system, if between them you have 220-240 you are on a single phase.
TED knows about this and has not commented on this problem yet.
Should I get the serial version or the USB? Would like to use it with Omni II in the future so I’m leaning towards serial - good idea or not?
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