So I have had my IoTaWatt in the box since early this year and am just now getting a chance to start hooking it up. Looking for some advice about how to hook up the clamps for the dual 20a and dual 30a circuits? I read something about clamping them both and then feeding them to a dual to single Jack to only take up one port? Obviously I can’t create loops based on how my electrician hooked up my panel two years ago when it was replaced. The dual 50a circuits were for an electric stove that I removed and won’t be using since I’m switching my stove over to natural gas.
The ones I’m questioning on how to hook up are the outside AC unit, Dryer, and basement receptacles.
Thank you.
Those all appear to be three wire circuits, so yes, if you can’t loop one of the conductors through the other way, you will need two CTs for each. You can connect each one to an IoTaWatt input, or you can combine each pair with a headphone splitter and go into one input. When combining, one of the CTs must be installed with opposite polarity (reversed).
You should be OK using 50A CTs and configuring the combined input as a 50A CT.
Thank you. I’ve ordered a few splitters to accommodate these circuits. Quick question. As I’m reviewing the documentation it’s saying for the mains to make sure the polarity is opposite for the dual phase. Does it matter which direction for which cable as long as they’re opposite? For the individual circuits, does it matter which direction as long as they’re all going the same direction?
Short answer is no. IoTaWatt will figure it out. You do need to one of each combined pair, but it doesn’t matter which one.
Yeah I think I got it up and running. Question, if the line for the CT is too short, do you have a link for an extension that’ll work?
I just sent you a PM @overeasy regarding my order. I just noticed you said 50a CTs will be ok for my AC Unit and Dryer? I saw in another thread someone mentioned bumping up to 100a CT to cover those sized circuits. Should I be ok with the 50a or be safer to bump up to 100a?
Circuit breakers are supposed to be sized so as to not exceed 80% of capacity, or put another way, to be 125% of expected load. So a 30A circuit breaker on a dedicated appliance should not exceed 25 Amps. Your AC unit should have a nameplate current draw right on the unit. Typican US dryers are around 5,000 Watts and do not exceed 25A (at 240V).
Moreover, the IoTaWatt has some excess capacity to handle a little more than 50mA. So I while I don’t recommend exceeding the 50A limit, I don’t believe these appliances will, and I don’t see a safety issue if they do.
Thanks then I’ll just keep my order as is. Appreciate it.
