Are there any plans for a “hard-wired” power and voltage measurement option for IotaWatt? We use IotaWatt sometimes in our home performance consulting and contracting businesses. Sometimes (especially in multi-family apartments) the electrical panel is located in a finished space, such as a hallway, and it’s not convenient or acceptable by tenants/owner to mount the IotaWatt to the drywall and run power/voltage cords to a receptacle. We need a solution that can be installed entirely inside the electrical panel for these kinds of situations.
Hi John,
You probably guessed the answer already. There are substantial technical hurdles, but the real show stopper is the safety certification when you get into a high-voltage enclosure. I just don’t have the volume to get involved with that. IoTaWatt has US, Canada and CE low-voltage safety certification with ETL.
When I think about the issue though, I have to wonder if providing an option to place the device in a load-center would solve the problem completely. In my limited experience, they are typically “right-sized”, especially units in public hallways, and there’s often not a lot of room inside anyway.
The best I can suggest is having a flush mount “structured wiring” panel installed next to the load center. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about structured wiring enclosure
These have accessories for providing receptacles, and lots of options for cable management. You can get them in fire code ABS and there are a lot of sizes.
I’m assuming you have an electrician installing these devices, and it shouldn’t be a big deal for them. Best I can offer.
Thanks for the plug in GBA.
Bob
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@overeasy just to confirm what you’re saying, if there isn’t a receptacle nearby then the other option to power the IotaWatt would be this “structured wiring enclosure”? and there’s no other way to power the IotaWatt using the wiring already inside the load center?
thank you!
The structured wiring enclosure provides a safe low voltage environment that does not limit WiFi signals too much. It can also provide a high voltage receptacle where you can plug in a VT and power supply.
Most electrical panels are too crowded to have enough room for something like IoTaWatt, even if it was rated for it. And then you would still have the issue of WiFi connectivity.
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