Emporia Vue Worth It?

[@mickeymallette2663]

Emporia should direct potential buyers to your video. It gives a much better detailed explanation than most I’ve seen.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks so much 😊

[@mickeymallette2663]

@@handydadtv you bet!

[@mickeymallette2663]

@@handydadtv you’re welcome. Do you know if 16 is the max circuit sensors that can be used on each monitor? Or could I add more?

[@handydadtv]

I think that’s the max.

[@janisjersovs7525]

I wonder, is it possible to have two systems combined, say if I have power distribution board in the house and garage separately?

[@edr2653]

I am looking to improve my electricity monitoring and was guided by my electrician in this direction. The demo of the software was excellent. It was clear, concise, not rushed and asked questions of the software , the majority of homeDads would ask. So well done on your presentation skills. This helped me confirm my thoughts around buying the 16 circuit devise. I was also pleasantly surprised emporia sold smart plugs, which solves one main problem with the device, as ring main power circuits cannot be broken down without individual smart plug monitoring. so a great lessons learnt. I would have liked to see how solar import/usage worked on the app, but I guess you didn’t have solar installed as yet. My other area of interest is the ability to smart switch off individual breakers which this device does not incorporate into the software. But I guess smart breakers could be added to critical circuits and controlled by a separate app (such as adapt). But this is “a nice to have” in the emporia software. May be for the future. Anyway that my thoughts for the day. Well done again for a great straightforward overview of both your emporia video on installation and software data energyment..

[@handydadtv]

Thanks 😊

[@dcraley]

Thanks for the video. Just installed mine several days ago. So far I’m liking its features. Can’t wait to capture several months of data to see where usage is.

[@handydadtv]

Yes it’s great to look backward.

[@jeff-millieesterline4209]

Great Video.. You can set it to coincide with your electric bill. Go to Settings>Household Info>Billing Date. I have one also and absolutely love it. I bought it while planning to purchase a generator for emergency power to see what size generator I needed. In the process I discovered several things that were costing me more than I realized. For example the first month of having the energy monitor I noticed that my hot water heater cost me $54 to run. After some experimenting I learned the hot water heater was using that much, but only because of my hot water recirculating pump that was running constantly, thus dumping cold water into my hot water tank every few minutes. Problem solved by a smart plug that turns the pump on only when we need it, using a schedule and Alexa. My hot water bill runs about $22 give or take depending on time of year as it is located in my garage. The Emporia Vue has paid for itself already in the 16 months I've had it. I'm now studying my data and contemplating solar to run my critical circuits in a power outage. Fridges, Freezer and TV/Internet and a few lights.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks so much for the tip! I guess I need to click around more!

[@Memo-nd6fj]

Very well done video. Your detail and explanations of how it all works and ties together are very informative. Based on your video review of this product, I am going to buy one that will be monitoring my garage conversion to an ADU. I was going to install a second electric meter to monitor the garage so the occupants would get their own bill from smud, but the cost to add a second meter is going to cost thousands! So I am going to buy one and attach it to my home and start monitoring my house electrical usage and see how accurate it is. As of this writing, my ADU will not be finished until about March or April of 2023. So I will be able to see how accurate this device will work. It sounds very promising and if accurate, will off the bat save me thousands in installation fees of a second meter. Thanks so much for your video, big thumbs up!👍

[@handydadtv]

Thanks so much 😊

[@devinwarrick3660]

I watched your installation video, and just watched this review, and I'm loving it so far. Very detailed information, and very encouraging for me to check out for myself. Loved these videos 100%

[@handydadtv]

Thanks so much 😊

[@justthoughts8254]

Haha love this review! One of the best reviews I’ve seen in all across the board. Not only that, great interaction with your audience. In terms of measurement, I love to see someone who can get as granular about costs as I am. Keep it up!

[@handydadtv]

Thanks so much 😊

[@justthoughts8254]

@@handydadtv I just finished installing mine. I almost gave up when I was 95% done; little did I know, I was almost done installing. It felt so good when it finally connected! Now, I came to this video again because I am trying to figure out how to rename all the numbers.. Your installation video was such great help and mental support! Thanks HandyDad TV!

[@handydadtv]

@justthoughts8254 My pleasure!

[@ManfredvonHolstein]

The best thing is the integration with Emporia’s EV charger. You can make the charger change its amperage seamlessly by the second depending on how much solar power you produce/provide to the grid.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks. Good point.

[@sparkytas]

Great video. I'm an electrician and I think it looks great and super useful!

[@handydadtv]

Thanks so much 😊 Refreshing departure from the usual hate comments I receive from electricians. 👍🏻

[@davelavigne2133]

I just bought the Vue 3 with the sensors and only put on the main sensors on the incoming power lines and had I known how accurate they are I would have just purchased those. It is super easy to see real-time load down to measuring a couple of lights or a computer monitor when they go on.

[@handydadtv]

Glad you like it 👍🏻

[@matthewseaton78]

Great review. I’ve been pondering weather to buy this for awhile now. Also was going to ask you about the solar but covered it in the last few minutes. Thanks a mill and keep doing this kind of stuff 👍🏻👍🏻

[@handydadtv]

My pleasure

[@TismoGaming]

Take a look at home assistant. It has emporia integration and and uses energy feature that displays your energy consumption in graphs and also shows you the comparison between last week and this weeks device’s consumption.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks for the tip

[@wmf1595]

Good review. Your ideas for improvements are spot on. I just got an electric car and I'm probably going to get an emporia charger, so it's good that it integrates.

[@handydadtv]

Glad it was helpful 👍🏻

[@stevemurphy5243]

I recently purchased a second home in the Poconos which has 9 circuits of electric baseboard heat and 2 circuits for electric water heaters. Knowing how much electricity each of these circuits uses would be useful in evaluating alternate heat sources such as a heat pump or an instant on hot water heater.Thanks for posting. I will look into this more.

[@handydadtv]

I remember my uncle’s house in the Poconos being 100% electric when I was a kid. I guess it’s too hard to run gas mains in the mountains.

[@cullenshirley2623]

I have 3 Emporia Vue units installed, obviously 1 in each breaker box. My big UGH!! which you addressed at the end is the fact that the Vue data doesn't correlate to my electric bill, due to the "calendar month". Hoping Emporia gets this data range feature updated on the app soon. Its great seeing the data, but I cant compare to an actual hard copy electric bill. Thanks for the video!!!

[@handydadtv]

My pleasure.

[@japlah]

Thanks. Pleasantly clear and well ordered. We in the UK are being g encouraged/threatened to install "smart" meters which go nowhere near what the likes of Emporia can do for the customer. Yet the energy companies persist in calling them "smart"!!!

[@handydadtv]

Their idea of a smart meter is different. Theirs can communicate with high energy appliances to reduce usage during peak periods to prevent brown outs. So that’s the benefit for the customer.

[@tomgle]

I initially rejected this thing because of the Cloud storage. I didn't need a useless brick sitting around when the company goes out of business or gets bought by somebody like Google who then gets tired of their acquisition and decides to discontinue the thing. My ears perked up when you said the magic words - ESPHome and Home Assistant. Wow, now I want one! It looks great, thanks for making the video.

[@handydadtv]

Yup. I haven’t done it, but I’ve read that it can be flashed so you can store all the data locally.

[@tomgle]

@@handydadtv I bought one and flashed it with Esphome. Now the data stays in my home. I see no other advantage except its cloud free!!!

[@handydadtv]

Did you need to physically open it to flash it? Or did you do OTA?

[@tomgle]

@@handydadtvThe first time I had to open it and solder a header. I did one OTA since then because I labeled one probe wrong.

[@ciliap]

@@tomgle Would you mind making a youtube video how to do that?

[@SB_DIY]

Very informative video. I am sold. Thanks for the great overview.

[@handydadtv]

Glad it was helpful

[@darrentecklenberg4280]

It would be interesting to see if the units physically consumed on the electric meter matches the units shown on the software app.

[@handydadtv]

The kWH match.

[@AndreiFinskiGPlus]

will get one myself! thanks for the detailed explanation of what it can do in the app. will probably hook it up to my Home Assistant as well as I figured there is an integration

[@handydadtv]

Yes but then you can’t use the Emporia app.

[@AndreiFinskiGPlus]

@@handydadtv I think you still can as it is using API and connects as a separate client. will check and reply back once it comes

[@colinandyas8781]

Good review. A couple of comments. You can set the month to match your utility billing. I have mine set to start a new month on the 28th. 2nd (and I only figured this out recently) when in the data view there is a little green bar with a ^. Click that and you can scroll the historical consumption.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks for the tips.

[@larrydefauw1173]

Definitely want a home energy monitor system. My question is: which one? This one seems pretty good with an attractive price point. Any reason why to select this one over another brand?

[@handydadtv]

I like the Emporia for its simplicity. It just measures current flow on the circuits where you place a CT. The only alternative that I considered was Sense, which only has CTs on the mains. After you train it, Sense tries to identify individual devices using power, rather than circuits, but the reviews say it isn’t very accurate.

[@ydna]

I have a spreadsheet to estimate some of this info (for the purposes of running the house on a generator) but this looks like a useful way to automate that data collection. I saw a competing product advertised on social media somewhere, but it looked really finnicky and under-engineered...this one appears to have many more features. Interesting that there aren't many other options that include the numerous breaker panel clamps. That kinda seals the deal

[@handydadtv]

Thanks 👍🏻

[@colomacountry]

Why do you think your garage fridge is using twice as much energy, you would think it would be the opposite being that it's not opened very often. Unless, your garage is really hot and or it's an older fridge? Also, can you see how many watts a circuit is pulling, I think you talked about this, but wasn't sure. Thank you so much for the video, it helped me decide if this was what I needed to monitor my mains and monitor my power consumption, because I can't use the CT that came with my Enphase as my electrical is all under ground and anyway I need something wireless.

[@handydadtv]

You can show graphs in watts, amps, and dollars. The garage is definitely hotter than the kitchen in the summer, plus it’s an older model.

[@ApresWahine]

Best install video for this product! Thank you

[@handydadtv]

Thanks so much 😊

[@ciliap]

I've had my vue for about over a year..... I like it a lot. My only complaint is I want more data analytic features and the ability to create custom reports etc. I'm not a super huge fan of my info going into the cloud and back down on something that truthfully could be localized on an SD card. That said.... its raw feedback in real time is second to none. I will say, my install was a PAIN as I have a newer home and the Breaker panel was JAMMED with wiring and those clamps are huge. I had to move different loads around just to ensure every other breaker was the one I wanted to track because clamping two breakers adjacent just wasn't happening. That may or may not be directly their fault. My other issue was the constant tripping of my AFCI breakers with the wired nut, tied together power leads. I ended up independently adding another breaker because...Why not when you have plenty of room at the bottom of the panel. Just to manage it alone. This eliminated all the issues. Other than that from a functionality standpoint its been great.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks for the feedback! I export my data to CSV every year for safe keeping and just in case I want to do additional analysis.

[@marcelosantana9311]

I really want one. Would love to be able to monitor each circuit.

[@handydadtv]

It’s a cool device

[@Hubjeep]

Thanks! I got a 4KW heat pump and a hot tub I would like to keep track of.

[@handydadtv]

It’ll do that for sure

[@leonelescobar091104]

Gracias por el video. Ya lo tengo funcionando. Fue de gran ayuda su recomendacion.

[@handydadtv]

Gracias

[@todd5963]

Per your video, you said u can't set it for the exact days to match your bill but how close is the Kw to what it says to what your bill says? Is it within 5% 10% or you are not sure. Great video!!! You're a natural for YT.

[@handydadtv]

My latest bill says I consumed 818 kWh from May 20 to June 20. I downloaded the Vue data for that period into Excel and the total usage is 961 kWh. The discrepancy is because May was an estimated reading.

[@timerskine249]

I noticed that the web app doesn't scroll, nice feature to have on a computer screen, otherwise like you I love the equipment and monitoring.

[@handydadtv]

I just moved and brought it with me. Haven’t installed it yet.

[@JackRussell021]

I installed mine about a week ago. I am still getting a feel for what "normal" usage is. I already found numerous circuits in the panel box that were mislabeled, including one labeled as "Heat Pump" which evidently connects to nothing. And one labeled "Old Range" which was in fact a heat pump (I got an alert that the oven had been left on, when in fact it was the heat pump running). Once reconfigured that sensor to tell it that it was a heat pump circuit and not an oven circuit, that went away.

[@handydadtv]

It’s always fun to play detective with a home’s wiring. Good job 👍🏻

[@ddemier]

Just got Emporia Gen 2 hooked up. How would a charge back work with my tenants. Basically you are saying they are using more than they being charged for so you are billing for the diffrence? Ive never heard of a charge back. Thanks and great video!

[@handydadtv]

If you know which circuits go to the rental units, you can simply look at the dollars spent on those circuits at the end of every month. Then request reimbursement from the tenants. Of course, this needs to be agreed on the lease.

[@ddemier]

​@handydadtv how do you monitor this Emporia Gen 2 24hrs a day and collect data? I have a Samsung S21 and turn on my hot spot and I can see any of the data untill I connect. Is there a cloud that the data goes too? I don't have home Wifi

[@handydadtv]

@ddemier It uses the cloud to collect your data so it requires WiFi.

[@janisjersovs7525]

But it only works precisely if every MCB or CBRO supplying specific device. In Ireland, we have MCB for lights on groundfloor, first floor, socket groundfloor, first floor, kitchen appliances, water heater and that's it.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks

[@technobirdwootwoot]

Have you had a minute to review the Vue Gen 3 offering that came out a few weeks ago, and comment on if it's worth the extra $$ vs. the Gen 2?

[@handydadtv]

I haven’t heard anything about the Gen 3. Will investigate it.

[@joesomontan9374]

So you mention solar. Is there a sensor you measure to get the amps flowing in and it can figure out the production costs? I'm thinking of getting one of these units. I'm a new EV owner and having the Emporia level 2 installed in a couple of weeks.

[@handydadtv]

Solar enters the panel through a breaker. You just put a CT on that line and tell the Vue it’s a solar line.

[@kenkrick7596]

I'd like to know more about connecting to Home Assistant?

[@handydadtv]

letmegooglethat.com/?q=esphome+emporia+vue

[@augustosisa]

Interesting, I like your video. How about data privacy? Data collected by emporia and stored in their cloud, how will be used for them?

[@handydadtv]

I can’t answer that. But they have nothing beyond my name, address, and phone. No credit cards or bank info. They don’t send spam and never called me.

[@caburchfield1212]

Very informative video, thanks for your time. Do you know if the APP now allows to selected own monthly cycle?

[@handydadtv]

Yes, someone told me there is a way to select your billing start date, but I haven’t tried it.

[@bjyoungblood]

Hi @HandyDadTV, If I have multiple breakers (one for each floor in home of about 7K sq ft), and I put an Emporia Vue on each breaker, would they work together to consolidate the data from all of them into a single place within the app?

[@handydadtv]

Yes

[@johns2590]

Is the App only cloud based? I would like to access the date from my local network (wifi is fine) but I am leary of cloud based since they always go to a pay to view data or they might go away and then where will we be?

[@handydadtv]

The default installation like I did uses cloud services. There may be other options for hacking the device to locally capture your data. They don’t charge at this point. But yes that can change. You could download your data every month to mitigate the risk of “data held hostage” in the future.

[@edcluchey4105]

Thank you for this review, You just helped me make up my mind as now I am going to buy the Emporia Energy Monitor.

[@handydadtv]

Glad it was helpful 👍🏻

[@bjnopoli]

Can you input your own date? Or does it automatically know the date?

[@handydadtv]

Automatic

[@cullenshirley2623]

Ohhh....would you know how to get my devices "online" without me opening up 3 boxes to somehow reset the Vue box inside. :( Not a task I want to do, as Ive caulked the panels to eliminate the draft coming from the wall into my rooms. THanks

[@handydadtv]

Try bouncing the router.

[@bennguyen1313]

I wouldn't mind using Emporia as a security monitor.. for example, texting me that my garage door opened. However, I'm hesitant on cloud services, not because of privacy, but because it can go out of business, change the subscription pricing, etc. I have a graveyard of products that no longer worked after the company went under (MyZeo, Chumby, Blue Line EM100B, Simple.tv, Slingbox, etc, etc) BTW, how difficult is it to determine what device is on what circuit breaker. For example, one switch controls the kitchen, hallway and bedroom.. so would I have to buy Emporium plugs to distinguish?

[@handydadtv]

It’s easy. For example, I wasn’t sure which circuit my TV was on so I just turned it on and off while looking at the Emporia app.

[@kwrzesien17]

Would two of these units work in the same house? I have two 200A service panels...

[@handydadtv]

Yes you can multiple Vues in the same app.

[@TheMycroft1]

Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughtful perspective. I had looked into the Vue before but wasn't aware of how smartplugs can integrate with the system; that's a strong selling point. One of my concerns is finding a way to identify that an electric oven has been left on - part of a 240V induction range that unfortunately isn't a smart device. I think Vue might help sense the problem, next trick is triggering a notification. One thing I wonder is: What do electricians and code inspectors think when they open a breaker box with one of these installed?

[@handydadtv]

I’m pretty sure electricians would hate it, mostly because I installed it myself and they wouldn’t see the need. If I was doing something that needed to be inspected, like building an addition on the house, I’d probably remove the Emporia for clarity.

[@sfgttt985]

🍇🍇🍈🍉🍉🍐🍐🍐🍐🍐🍐🍉🍉🍐

[@sparkytas]

Hi I'm an electrician and I think monitoring is smart. As long as you turn off the mains power to the switchboard before you install it, I think it's ok.

[@johnb2271]

Both, great videos. Appreciate the follow-up. In my main breaker box I have a 50-amp breaker that goes out to another building. If I want to know the specifics of what is going on there can I go to that other 50-amp breaker box and install an Emporia Vue there too? (SmartPlugs are not applicable there) Will the Emporia app give me information about both? (Can I tell the app to show me each box separately, or together?)

[@handydadtv]

You can definitely have multiple Vues in the app on the same account, but I don’t think you can “nest” them so the sub-panel costs roll up to your main panel.

[@cjonesplay1]

Great Review

[@handydadtv]

Thanks

[@edrumsas5420]

Cool info. Good as a monitor of electronic uses. Like a temp/oil pressure/electric gauges on a car. I see this as a nice to know rather than I have to known. How much is this?

[@handydadtv]

handydad.tv/empv - there are 3 configurations.

[@DailenGunter]

So if I have 22 breakers, some are doubled up of course for high amp. Devices, can I get accurate readings from 16 sensors? Or can I put one sensor for the double breaker feeds?

[@handydadtv]

One sensor for each double breaker.

[@rmorales1029]

Nice info! Since you have an electric car how are you taking advantage of the excess energy produced by your panels to charge your EV? How much additional miles do you get/day? Do you still need additional charging during the evening, assuming the excess solar energy from your panels isn’t fully charging your vehicle.

[@handydadtv]

I don’t have solar.

[@gregsmith6791]

Great video! We have a 200A main service panel and two 100A sub panels: one in the garage with our EVSE tied to that and another one in the utility room for our net metering solar array. I'm guessing I'm going to need three emporia monitors if that's the route we choose to go? I'm also considering the Sense Energy monitor which is a cleaner install but a little less clarity it seems like

[@handydadtv]

I haven’t tried Sense but I’ve heard it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Three Vues would be ideal for your situation.

[@shanehall8909]

You can buy the large diameter 50a sensors separately and this will work as long as the 100a sub panels are not using more than 70a each.

[@Appmyhome]

@@handydadtv we have the sense. It has improved over time. They do waveform analysis so you don’t need to add those extra donuts. Though you can add some if you want to isolate a circuit. This has been helpful as we too have the sub panel. Here in California there is a main panel outside for the big 220 circuits and then an inside sub panel for the typical 110 circuits. So like you mention with Vue you’d need two systems. That said the sense will work with smart plugs from several manufacturers like Kasa which helps isolate better.

[@chrimony]

Putting those smart plugs everywhere seems a lot easier than messing with the electric panel. Based on their website prices, for $150 you can get 15 of them for around $10 a pop, which ends up costing the same as the electric panel version.

[@handydadtv]

That’s fine for anything plugged in, but it won’t help with any hard-wired or 240-volt appliances.

[@melvinp.h.3069]

There's absolutely no comparison. Smart plugs are low current and can bottleneck or burn if overcharged. This system has lightyears ahead of outlet plugs. Absolutely worth the money.

[@billjohnson3344]

Watch out with the Emporia smart plugs. Lots of issues on their forum with people using them on say freezers to monitor power consumption, only to find out that a momentary power-outage and restoral results in the devices staying off and not turning back on. Some people have even gone so far to crack them open and hot-wire them always on - and just use the monitor function. Although the clamps in the panel is more work than a monitored smart plug, it is non-invasive to the circuit and can't fail open-circuit (off).

[@JackRussell021]

When I installed mine, I used up 12 of the 16 slots just on 240V circuits, which can't be monitored with the smart plug. Then there are appliances like the dishwasher that are hardwired, and you can't use the smart plug there either.

[@vclxrr]

Excellent review! This really helped. Thank you, @HandyDadTV!

[@handydadtv]

Glad it was helpful 👍🏻

[@reynaldotorres4349]

Can be monitored remotely, outside the wi-fi?

[@handydadtv]

Yes.

[@Hubjeep]

3:49 My electric bill is confusing!!!!! kWh AND delivery charge? I think it also varies by consumption.

[@handydadtv]

Mine too

[@dougfry9949]

Is the app just on the phone/tablet or is there a PC based app? tks

[@handydadtv]

There is a web app as well.

[@dreafrank]

Just had this system installed by our residential solar system installer. Was looking for online information about it and found your video. If I add the smart plug plug to a monitored circuit, will it automatically appear under the circuit Bonn the phone app? 😊

[@handydadtv]

You configure which circuit it’s on. Then it’s automatic.

[@jerelevii]

Hi, nice video. Can i put 3 or 4 wire in one clip( i mean one sensore)? Will work ? Thank you

[@handydadtv]

No. One circuit per sensor.

[@aymanalmateeg]

Thanks for sharing, this is great. Is cloud storage free forever or is it limited to x number of years?

[@handydadtv]

It’s free. community.emporiaenergy.com/topic/emporia-app-faqs/

[@justmeEnglandUK]

Would like to see it flashed and running with esp home

[@handydadtv]

I am considering doing that.

[@raymondboyle2722]

Great vid. What size circuit is your car on, mine is a 60A, but only draws 48A. Wondering if the 50A sensor will work on that circuit?

[@raymondboyle2722]

Think I answered it...each 50A sensor is accurate with high resolution between 0.04A - 63A (5W - 7500W).

[@handydadtv]

I have a 50-amp circuit for the car charger. 60A may be slightly thicker wire, but the CT should still fit. PS. You may have a max charge rate of 48 amps, but I don’t recommend charging that fast on a daily basis. I only charge at 15 amps nightly.

[@raymondboyle2722]

@@handydadtv Yup our cars can use 80%, but Absolutely nothing from Tesla to suggest 48A is of any consequence to batteries. Of much more import is not charging above 80%, but even then the lifetime effect is modest. We simply don’t have enough data except 10 plus years of Model S battery to base a charge rule outside what Tesla says.

[@handydadtv]

I reduce it more for safety than battery preservation. The faster you charge, the more heat is generated in the wires, panel, breaker, etc.

[@MtnXfreeride]

in the heating times my electric changes so that anything over 700KW is a lower rate.. is it smart enough to calculate that?

[@handydadtv]

I’m not sure but you can export the data and do your own calculation if you want to double check your bill.

[@firmbutton6485]

Does this enable you to see each phase in isoltaion for assessing balance between phases?

[@handydadtv]

Yes

[@Cd1988B]

hi there, does it keep a history of the kWh spent over many months? what is its limit?

[@handydadtv]

No limit that I know of.

[@rpmspeedyblue]

I’m currently looking for one. My previous one stop working

[@handydadtv]

Look no further. Link in description.

[@davidmckee2914]

I am getting an error that says We Have Detected 3 200A Sensors and 2 Valid Voltages? Does anyone know why this is occurring. I do have only 2 - 200 Amp sensors on both main phases and I have the power split to the unit between two adjacent breakers. It is showing I have 3 phases instead of 2 and this is causing 33% more wattage, amps etc. Thanks for your input.

[@handydadtv]

I have never seen that error before. Sorry.

[@JamalMooreTravelBuddy]

whats the difference between load management and a monitoring system

[@handydadtv]

Load management is the active control of electricity consumption. The Vue provides no control, just monitoring.

[@JamalMooreTravelBuddy]

​@handydadtv can you recommend a load management device

[@handydadtv]

@JamalMooreTravelBuddy No sorry.

[@Appmyhome]

Great videos watched them both.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks so much 😊

[@gordripley1406]

Hi, great review. Wondering if it would measure the useage to our back-up portable generator, we have it hooked to the main breaker via a generlink...would love to be able to measure the draw to the generator

[@handydadtv]

Current draw TO the generator while it’s idle, or FROM the generator while it’s running?

[@gordripley1406]

@@handydadtv From while it's running...so I know when I'm getting close to 7,000 watts (7,500 watt genereator). I guess overtime I would know this based on the circuits, but knowing in real-time would be ideal

[@handydadtv]

Yes for sure it can do that. Just like it does with solar panels.

[@dennislesieur8480]

Hello, thanks for the very informative video! I have 2 quick questions that pertain to my situation. First, I do not have a solar system and do not yet have an electric vehicle and my electric service provider does not charge according to when I use my energy. I conserve the old fashion way. I'm in Florida, where the largest expense is keeping the house comfortable from April to October. I have 9 ceiling fans that allow me to set my A/C at a higher temperature to save, as it costs pennies to operate ceiling fans compared to the A/c system excessively. And in my situation, other than finding out where the KWH are being used, how could I save money on power consumption using this system? Thanks in advance for your feedback!

[@handydadtv]

The Vue won’t save you money, per se. It gives you data that can help you make changes to conserve energy “the old fashioned way” so you can save money. I believe you that A/C is your biggest cost. But what about refrigerators? Freezers? Pool pump?

[@JackSaintFort]

Great video! Thank you

[@handydadtv]

My pleasure

[@kevinleesmith]

You can easily see the trend of your refrigerator by looking at the refrigerator circuit and then choosing your time period day month year etc!

[@handydadtv]

You are correct

[@kevinleesmith]

@@handydadtv I've used one of these monitoring 8 circuits in my home since October last year (and found out that my fridge/freezer was using so much power I've replaced it and the saving in power over 1 year will cover the cost). Its a great system, I just wish ther graphing was a lot better and I wish they would release uk 240v smart plugs

[@handydadtv]

Great info thanks

[@dmariop9253]

Is your Tesla charger pulling alot

[@handydadtv]

It’s variable. I normally charge at 15 amps but it can go up to 32.

[@geoffreymgray]

Looking to add one, great video! Couple questions, (1) I have a 100a subpanel going to a tenant's unit...I think the product says 75a max; do you know what will happen? Maybe it will just max out if that circuit is drawing more than 75? (2) More of a curiosity, but on both of your refrigerators on the historical data there were a couple big spikes. Just curious if you know what caused that?

[@handydadtv]

Get a separate Vue for the subpanel that just has the main CTs (if you don’t care about the tenant’s circuits). The spikes could be the frost-free function.

[@geoffreymgray]

@@handydadtv good idea. They do have a 60a circuit, so I'm not sure how that will react. The tenant is a pottery studio, so this is for their kiln.

[@handydadtv]

Hopefully they pay for electricity!

[@Swansboroguy]

I’m ordering one!

[@handydadtv]

It’s an informative little gadget

[@cheddarcheese]

I am going to give the 3ph unit a try. I am more interested in amps than Kw/h.

[@handydadtv]

Let me know how it goes

[@billjohnson3344]

Understand that Amps is a somewhat bogus calculation in the Emporia software and not a real value. Then the Vue 2 first came out, Amps wasn't even in the app. Which I guess makes sense as a power monitor, so just W/kW/kWh/$. Enough people asked for Amps and they added it - in software. It just takes the power and divides it by a fixed 120V - regardless of actual voltage. So it isn't accurate, and gets messed up if you use the multiplier for 240V circuits.

[@cheddarcheese]

@@billjohnson3344 Aren't they using standard induction "clamps" like a normal clam-on amp meter? It seem like they are multiplying amps (from the clamps) * line voltage. I don't think they are accounting for power factor etc.

[@billjohnson3344]

@@cheddarcheese Yes, the CT clamps are the same type as a clamp amp meter would have. But the hardware only uses this internally - the system doesn't expose the real amps in the software (presently). It only sends Watts and then they try and undo that if you select amps in the software. They designed it as a power meter not realizing people may also want to look at just current. So that information is not being sent to their cloud - even though internally true Amps are measured. They are absolutely are using power factor for the power measurements. They did not with the original Vue (this is a 2nd generation Vue), and that original device gave bad information for anything except resistive loads. So if you use a clamp meter on a circuit with something non-resistive (motor), it will not show the same as what their software is falsely calculating by just taking power / 120. Unknown if / when they will fix this. If you visit their forum, a lot of this is discussed there.

[@DCifuentesJ]

Why your "Car charger" has a battery icon next to it?

[@handydadtv]

I selected that icon.

[@jasperthomas8048]

Are you able to see the balance between L1 and L2 (220v)?

[@handydadtv]

Yes, you see the usage for each line individually so you can shuffle circuits if you want to improve the balance.

[@pico_cole]

Question handydad - does the app monitor power from the two breakers that you tapped to power the unit? I saw in your previous video that you powered it from your garage breakers. Will those be excluded from the monitoring? Thanks for the videos!

[@handydadtv]

Those are just providing voltage to the unit. If I want to monitor their usage, I’d need to install CTs on them.

[@pico_cole]

CTs can be installed on the same breakers that are powering the unit? Thanks for your quick reply!

[@handydadtv]

Yup

[@portlandlocalchurch8168]

The power for the unit is very low, like 5vdc or something miniscule,it will reflect on the whole house value but it's such a small amount that you won't see it

[@ThomasMurphy-yw2ws]

How do you monitor more than 16 circuits in a single panel? Is that an option?

[@handydadtv]

16 is the max per device. But it’s not an issue. You have the big CTs on the mains to give you total consumption. I only monitor the circuits with appliances and the most variable usage that I can potentially do something about. The rest just rolls up to the mains as “other”.

[@mancavecrypto7750]

I have 2 connected, but you only need to connect one of them to the mains, the 2nd one can be subordinated to the primary one.

[@ahscreations677]

Can i install with my home's main electric meter to monitor all bill & consumption?

[@handydadtv]

Yes, you can get it with the two big sensors only, but I’m not sure what value that would add unless you don’t trust your electric meter. Adding circuit sensors gives insight to where the electricity is being consumed.

[@ahscreations677]

@@handydadtv does two sensors are sufficient for small house?

[@handydadtv]

Personally, I wouldn’t bother with only 2 sensors.

[@savannahrei8674]

Great insight thank you. I am enjoying my heated floor this winter following your lead. How much power has your flooring used?

[@handydadtv]

Ah that’s a different house. My daughter has the heated floors. I WISH I had them here because the whole house is on a slab.

[@macsterguy]

Very interesting!

[@handydadtv]

Thanks 👍🏻

[@bbishop7628]

I wish it had more than 16 circuits. The smart plugs are sold out.

[@handydadtv]

Bummer

[@publicmail2]

The 1 sec look back data is very bad, only shows accurate detail while using app but 1sec look back is useless, anyone else experiencing? Ever since an app downgrade about 1 year ago...

[@handydadtv]

I never realized you could look back by seconds!?!! I always assumed it meant “real time usage”.

[@jetfanroy]

How much does this retail for?

[@handydadtv]

Check here handydad.tv/empv

[@arturdzido7112]

I wonder whether you actually saved as much as the device costed you?

[@handydadtv]

Hard to say. I’m still optimizing things.

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

depends how you use the data, its to see where your money is going.

[@davehouser1]

Setting up ESPhome to flash the device looks complicated. Your comment translates to "Emporia vue requires cloud connection to work" as flashing a drive is not that easy.

[@handydadtv]

I haven’t investigated flashing the device.

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

yes very complicated, buggy, crashes my home assistant.

[@nickhurley2472]

Dad god mode.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks

[@kevinleesmith]

The x box "spike" was 10w! Hardly a spike!

[@handydadtv]

It’s like a dripping faucet. It adds up.

[@lukeno4143]

most homes have 3 or 4 circuits. 2 power outlet circuits, oven, air conditioner? how can this guy end up with 16 circuits? what does a circuit mean here?

[@handydadtv]

Built in 2018. Codes have changed. Each room has its own circuit. Several in the kitchen.

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

if built in 1940

[@lukeno4143]

@@TheUnofficialMaker 1992 this home has 3 circuits

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

@@lukeno4143 guess you got the wrong 'electrician'

[@lukeno4143]

@@TheUnofficialMaker no its the same in every house i have seen. this is not usa. 240v if that makes a diff.

[@Just_An_Idea_For_Consideration]

i was all on board until you said it stored info in the cloud!!! I REFUSE TO USE SOFTWARE THAT STORES MY INFO IN THE CLOUD! But thx for review

[@handydadtv]

I’ve heard others say this device can be flashed with ESPHome and data stored locally.

[@handydadtv]

gist.github.com/flaviut/93a1212c7b165c7674693a45ad52c512

[@Scaliad]

Doesn't work without internet connection... That can be a cell phone, but it must have a 2.4ghz internet connection.

[@handydadtv]

If you use Home Assistant, it can be flashed with ESPHome. I haven’t done it, but I know it can be done.

[@Scaliad]

@@handydadtv Thanks for that info... I will look into it!

[@MaxMediaUSA]

You DAMAGE the X-Box whenever you unplug it without shutting it down completely internally. It's the same as just unplugging your computer without shutting it down. Be careful what you just unplug when it comes to electronics.

[@handydadtv]

Thanks

[@apex007]

Chris, sorry still not convinced. I imagine the usage of this for most people would be to look at the app at the end of the month and never look at it again. Also, I think I covered most the use cases you mentioned, below: Double check electric bill -- you electric provider won't care. They are the final arbiter Vampire -- one time fix. There are simpler ways to find it Charging a tenant for electric use - probably the only use where I find any value in this device Monitoring chest freezer failures - simpler devices that can be plugged in point of use

[@handydadtv]

That’s fine. It’s not for everyone.

[@billjohnson3344]

Although the setup that Chris installed may be more involved and more data that many people need, the version of the Emporia Vue 2 combo with just the mains clamps is much easier to install and does provided good overall usage. Like the Sense, but without the smart AI of the Sense (that never worked). You can go with that and use none of the circuit sensors, of just use a handful for things you may be interested in (like EV charging and solar). Also, a side benefit of this is that you can monitor things remotely when you are not home. Like if you forgot to turn something off when going on vacation - can check remotely and send a neighbor over. Maybe not needed, but surely neat - even if to just show off to your friends.

[@dane9193]

I'd have to disagree. I think I'm similar to Chris, I love smart devices and I love data and seeing what my earned dollars are going toward. For some folks who don't care, ignorance is bliss in not caring what's contributing to your overall energy usage. But myself being energy conscious and wanting to do my best to curb usage during peak times, this type of device is exactly what I'm looking for. I have an Eyedro energy meter and was considering the Sense as well, but the more I research this product, the more this one's looking like a smart choice.

[@handydadtv]

I’ve heard many people say the smart AI in Sense is all hype and it doesn’t work. So that’s why I though Vue would be better. Now I’m just sitting here collecting data for the first year so I can look back and begin to look for trends. That’s the thing about data. You never know what you’ll discover until you analyze it.

[@TheUnofficialMaker]

esphome is a nightmare in my experience.

[@handydadtv]

I never used it

[@rogermartin404]

If someone needs to see their heater used $6 of electricity in a month, their probably too cheap to even buy this gadget. 😂

[@handydadtv]

Data enables intelligent decisions.

[@jovetj]

LOL! Units "carbon" and "trees" Utter bullshit.

[@handydadtv]

Yeah I don’t bother with those. I only look at Watts and Dollars.