Reply to post: Re: Massively beneficial ...

You should install smart meters even if they're dumb, says flack

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

Re: Massively beneficial ...

"My ex-electricity supplier provided me with a free induction loop reader that you put round your mains input cable,"

I discovered that the last electrical upgrade to the house used two cables in parallel between the meter and the fusebox - presumably as they are more flexible. The free induction probe for remote readings could only measure the current through one cable. Fortunately a local charity shop had an unused one going cheap - and the design allowed for up to three probes to be attached for a combined reading.

Unfortunately the remote readings lag a long way behind a device's on/off usage - and the fridge-freezer compressors often confuse the issue.

A Belkin device that plugs between a mains point and a device gave a much better idea of what each was using in real-time. It did report some low power switching psu "blobs" as having no consumption - presumably owing to the power factor.

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