I Want A T.E.D.: The Energy Detective

I wrote earlier about a gadget I own called the Kill-A-Watt, in the post I Love My 'Kill A Watt'. The Kill A Watt lets me measure the energy usage of electrical appliances that plug into normal household electrical outlets.

A challenge I highlighted with the Kill A Watt is this: "One thing I haven't been able to figure out is a way to measure the energy consumed by the biggest appliances in the house: the furnace fan, the air conditioner, the clothes dryer, the range, the oven. These are either wired direct to the panel or don't use standard outlets, since each requires a lot of juice. The best I've been able to do is guess based on research of similar appliances."

A complementary solution is now available, in T.E.D.: The Energy Detective. I just saw T.E.D. mentioned on CBC News. Thanks for highlighting it, CBC News! I did some research, and I think I want one. In fact, I think governments that want to promote energy conservation should give each household a T.E.D. and a Kill A Watt!

T.E.D. connects to a home's electrical panel and can measure an entire home's electricity usage in nearly real time (a 2 second delay). The separate portable receiver displays consumption, and also tracks historical consumption in kilowatts and dollars. Time-of-day pricing can be set up, which is important since my local utility will be implementing time-of-day pricing "really soon now."

One particular feature caught my eye that addresses the challenge I mentioned above: "TED is actually designed to measure your entire home's energy consumption, but you can measure any individual 110v or 220v electrical circuit just as easily." (See here.)

The only drawback I see so far is that T.E.D. requires an electrician to install, since it's connected at the panel directly onto the main circuit. (Actually, the literature also mentions "or a qualified homeowner." Wouldn't that just mean an electrician installing T.E.D. for his own home? Or, do they mean anybody qualified to be a homeowner? I own a home! I must be qualified, right? :-)

If and when I get one, I will post here about my experience with it. My first job is to track one down and buy it, since I haven't had great experience lately trying to buy cool gadgets!