Comment Measure each circuit in the house (Score 1) 184
How about installing simple power meters in your breaker panel, on each circuit? That way you could monitor each room in the house and in many cases each device (such as big appliances) separately. I'm surprised no one sells such a kit.
Off the top of my head, it would involve adding a small coil of wire around the hot wire of each circuit, and reading those with some A/D's (4 kHz should be sufficient). Tap into one of the hot wires to measure voltage, again using an A/D and probably a step-down transformer. Use a small embeded controller to read all the A/D's and do the correct math (average(A(t) * V(t)) and make the data available on a LAN. I'll bet the whole thing would cost under $100. You'd have a detailed break down of your monthly power bill.
Off the top of my head, it would involve adding a small coil of wire around the hot wire of each circuit, and reading those with some A/D's (4 kHz should be sufficient). Tap into one of the hot wires to measure voltage, again using an A/D and probably a step-down transformer. Use a small embeded controller to read all the A/D's and do the correct math (average(A(t) * V(t)) and make the data available on a LAN. I'll bet the whole thing would cost under $100. You'd have a detailed break down of your monthly power bill.
