Solar Energy

[JohnW2]

The owl being battery operated cannot obtain any indication of the phase of the voltage so cannot determine the direction of energy flow. They obviously assume energy will only flow from meter to consumer unit.

Whilst I am sure that most/all of the standard consumer 'energy monitors' do not bother to attempt to determine direction of energy flow, as recently discussed, I don't think the fact that a monitor has no wired connection to the mains precludes the possibility of doing that - the voltage waveform can probably be sensed by capacitive coupling.

Don't forget that, in the context we're talking about, precise determination of the current/voltage phase difference is not required. Depending on the direction of energy flow it will either be 'around zero' or 'around 180°'.

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I'm sure that some people find them useful as rough indicators of changes in their energy usage.

Will those be the people who haven't realised that they should turn lights off when not using them, that they should not over-fill kettles, that electric showers and tumble driers and washing machines consume electricity, and so on?

 

[JohnD]

there are plenty of people who have not realised that a fan heater uses as much electricity as two hundred low-energy lamp bulbs, and waste their time turning off lights instead of topping up insulation and draughtproofing, or buying a vest.