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[I_want_an_Omega]

Ok, the electricity monitors that you connect around the incoming supply - you know the ones. You get them free from British Gas etc, or can buy them from Owl etc.

Does anyone know of one that is accurate using low energy bulbs? My experience is that they significantly over-read when used with LE bulbs.

I understand why this is, and IMHO, the way round it is for the monitor to measure current and voltage as opposed to the current & assumption method using the current only clamp.

So, any experience, comments please.

Thanks - Rob

[Marks DTM Calib]

As you say, unless it can detect the phase then they wont give an accurate reading.

[mantahatch]

Do they detect how much energy the unit itself uses 

And if everyone in the world had one surely the energy involved in manufacturing and running them would outweigh any savngs.

[Vamps]

I would NOT want one of these, I would be crying every day instead of twice a year when I get a Statement, I pay monthly by DD and must be the highest in the land for our size house.....

[Mysteryman]

Why would you need an energy monitor? Anything that has an element for heating (kettle, immersion heater, oven) will use loads. Don't need a meter to tell me that.

[jaykay]

We received one from Npower called smartpower.  The blurb that came with it reckoned you could save up to 15% of your electricity by monitoring your usage.  Connected it up and compared the weekly results with actual meter readings over a month and the monitor is consistently overreading by about 18%.  At first it nearly frightened me to death 
Now I know what it is up to I am not so worried.

[I_want_an_Omega]

We received one from Npower called smartpower.  The blurb that came with it reckoned you could save up to 15% of your electricity by monitoring your usage.  Connected it up and compared the weekly results with actual meter readings over a month and the monitor is consistently overreading by about 18%.  At first it nearly frightened me to death 
Now I know what it is up to I am not so worried.

That's my whole point. I had a load of LE lights that came to a total of 77 watts as rated on the bulbs - the monitor said they were taking over 400 

To be fair, its the LE lights that they have the problem with - most other stuff is ok ...........

[albitz]

That reminds me. Have got one of those monitor things here, had it for months, havent taken it out of the box yet.

[Marks DTM Calib]

We received one from Npower called smartpower.  The blurb that came with it reckoned you could save up to 15% of your electricity by monitoring your usage.  Connected it up and compared the weekly results with actual meter readings over a month and the monitor is consistently overreading by about 18%.  At first it nearly frightened me to death 
Now I know what it is up to I am not so worried.

That's my whole point. I had a load of LE lights that came to a total of 77 watts as rated on the bulbs - the monitor said they were taking over 400 

To be fair, its the LE lights that they have the problem with - most other stuff is ok ...........

Thats because LE bulbs are very capacitive and hence the current lags the voltage by upto 90deg......this can cause some mega weird effects on inductive power measurements!

[Kevin Wood]

Yep, a current clamp around one of the meter tails tells you very little.

I have found these devices to be pretty good for measuring individual appliances:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plug-In-Power-and-Energy-Monitor/dp/B000Q7PJGW

Measures mains voltage, current, real and apparent power, power factor, frequency and units consumed over a given period of time.

Kevin