Powometer and My Energy Usage:

Powometer first:

Powometer is an application written with the aim of monitoring energy monitors.
Why? Well, most energy monitors are great for using on the spot but that is pretty much it.

You cannot see what has happened over time. Has your usage actually dropped over the last 3 months?
It would be hard to tell and you are actually at the mercy of the utility companies and how accurately they estimate your usage. We all know they don't do that very well.

Powometer allows you to monitor your usage, with a supported energy monitor, and over time, see what is actually happening and how it will affect your bill at the end of the month.
Once setup, Powometer will quietly monitor your home energy usage and display if any number of ways.
Some of these are: (Some still in development
  1. A daily graph of your usage.
  2. A weekly, monthly or annual graph of your usage.
  3. Your current cost for this month.
  4. Your cost this month compared to last month



What Energy Monitors are supported by Powometer and MyEnergyUsage.org

Powometer is designed to support any energy monitor which can be connected to a computer.
Currently, only Wattson is supported but very soon, support will be added for eco-eye. If you have an eco-eye, keep an eye for updates on the website.

MyEnergyUsage.org also has exposed various methods which make it very easy to get data in and out of the website.
If you have a monitor you would like to use on My Energy Usage, it will be a simple process to add it. Documentation and examples will come soon.
Another thing coming soon is the ablity to enter your own details. Let's assume you bought an energy monitor which you cannot connect to a computer, you will still be able to the features on My Energy Usage.org.

MyEnergyUsage.org:

The website, MyEnergyUsage.org, is designed to talk to energy monitors as well as software for energy monitors such as Powometer.
When you register on the website and your energy usage is uploaded why whichever monitor you use, you can compare to other people.

An example is a friend of mine who uses Powometer. He thought he was doing well by only using an average of 2KW/h during the day. When he saw what I use, 0.3KW/h during the day, he was shocked.
The website will also allow you to compare your bill with someone elses.
Lets says you use utility company Fred's Cheap Nuclear Power. and your average monthly usage is 3000 units while someone else uses Expensive Green Windmills Power Company and they use about the same as you, you can compare the pro's and cons.
While your bill is cheaper, you will be able to see that your company is worse for the environment that your neighbours company. Do you switch or not?

Using MyEnergyUsage.org, you can say "What If I Did Switch" and the site would calculate your new bill based on real usage! Not the esitmates the company or comparison websites offer. Much better...

Powometer would not be what it is without the help of many others who have contributed their time and effort towards it.

There are many other things to have a look at on the site. They include monitoring your carbon foot print, compare your usage to others (are you really that green?)

Screen shots

I have uploaded some screen shots of Powometer so you can see what it is all about before trying it. Click here to view.

Not all these features are ready as yet. As I am a single, one man band doing this in my spare time, things are slow going. As things progress and features come online, sign up to the news letter and I will let you know as things happen. If you have some spare time and could offer any help / ideas, I would be most grateful.

Everything here is free. Enjoy...