So I have my Iotawatt installed and have several CTs in place. I’m wondering what is the best methodology to use when deciding which circuits to monitor? My panel has like 40 circuits. Some are obviously dedicated to stuff like Dryer, Washer, HVAC 1(240v), HVAC 2(240v), Refridgerator, etc. Then the others are more like outlets/lights for hallway/rooms/bathrooms etc. I feel like I’m wasting a CT monitoring a Dryer that isn’t on that much and the main CTs will pick up that stuff anyway.
So I guess my Q is what thought process did you use to prioritize what you are monitoring?
Your Mains and HVAC definitely. We use the Dryer a lot in winter and hardly at all in the summer. We have solar thermal hot water that supplies virtually all of our hot water for six months and hardly any the other half when it uses electric backup. We grow micro-greens under lights in the winter so there is a seasonal load in the basement. Our bills are high in the winter and low in the summer, but if I subtract those things: Heat-pump, hot-water, Dryer and basement, I get a pretty steady base-load of 13.6 kWh/day average for the year.
See how the base-load is steady year after year. With this data, I can see that heating is a big user and is measured. If I wanted to try to reduce usage more, I would probably try to chip away at the base-load. It’s a little less than half of the total, but most of it is steady throughout the year so knocking off 1 kWh/day would save 365 kWh per year or 7.3% of the base-load.
That’s how I approach managing my usage. I keep an eye on the base-load and manage the seasonal loads individually. With years of data and Graph+, it’s easy to take the long view.
Thanks for the feedback. It makes sense on using the system for overall consumption to enhance energy efficiency. I think I will double some of my CT’s for the 240v HVAC for the summer so I can get really good readings on those. (I’m hopefully installing new windows this summer so I think tracking those in detail for 2 years will be a good start). The rest I’m putting where I have equipment constantly running to see what I can do there.
I’m guessing this system doesn’t have the features like “Sense” does where it signatures the power start/consumption and tries to profile stuff based on that?
