Electric Water Heater Meter

[bowbridge]

Hello,

I'm interested in finding out how many kWh my electric water heater is using over a period of a few months. Sort of like the Kill O Watt meter that I have for 120V stuff. I thought of going on the cheap and using a clamp on ammeter with a video camera pointing at the display and then watching the video and writing down the current on time and draw. Kinda Rube Goldberg, I know. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[MBfreak]

Yes.
Get hold of an hours counter that runs on mains volatge.
Connect that // to the heater element

kWh = rated power*h. Good enough.

Or go to a junkyard and rescue a kWh meter and install in the circuit.

Ola

 

[The Cobbler]

a 240 volt hour meter and figure it out from the hrs used heating
or a KWH meter https://www.ebay.com/itm/220V-Digit...405612&hash=item5220502180:g:Qz4AAOSwcIxdJDsN

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Whats your budget for this?

Could get a meter with CTs on amazon.

 

[mmsalvage]

I've used some meters like this with success in the past: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YY1KOHA/?tag=atomicindus08-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JB9B2QL/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[bowbridge]

Budget about $100

 

[Norcal]

With all the smart meters that have been installed there should be a glut of KWH meters on the market you should be able to find one and a meter can and still be under budget. www.duckduckgo.com

 

[BD1]

Contact your electric supplier. IF you're all electric you should be getting a discount too.

 

[alfredeneuman]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GMZRXE8/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[wyliesdiesels]

Contact your electric supplier. IF you're all electric you should be getting a discount too.

Not all poCos give discounts for all electric.

Mine sure doesnt and neither does TID, MerID, or SMUD.

 

[Showkey]

If SENSE was a reasonable price it would make sense to track all power use in the home. Somebody will fix the pricing and capture the market share.

https://sense.com/buy

 

[Platonic Solid]

So after this experiment you discover that half your electric bill is your water heater, then what will you do?

(Please add location to your profile.)

 

[Sevenhills1952]

You could temporarily flip the breaker, then add a pigtail lamp socket to an heating element. 1000bulbs.com has SKU: SATCO-S8916, 240v led bulb $5.99 (or simply wire two sockets in series, a couple low watt bulbs in them. This way when element comes on so does the light.
Easy to see when it runs and for how long. You know wattage by heaters label. Clamp on ammeter does same thing.

Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk

 

[bowbridge]

I won't do anything. Just want to know how much electric is being used by the water heater. Simliar to running my motorcycles on a dyno. Curiosity.

 

[slow]

http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-install-electric-meter-on-240Volt-water-heater.html

some good ideas, found on a google search. The hour meter on the elements would be a cheap method.

I agree on the Sense pricing, if it was sub $200 I would have bought one already.

 

[Allen Arin]

It 's better to get consulted by the electrician its better not to buy any ammeter without consulting anyone

 

[jcouch1]

I bought the Sense system... It was worth the expense for me because i'm trying to understand where my power is being used. I've been able to determine that my central air is the big user as opposed to the two electric water heaters. It helped me prioritize house upgrades/ expenditures over the next 3-5 yrs.

 

[Platonic Solid]

I won't do anything. Just want to know how much electric is being used by the water heater. Simliar to running my motorcycles on a dyno. Curiosity.

Here in CT, a very high electricity cost state, I was shocked when my electric bill dropped $200/mth after removing my electric water heater and installing a Rinnai tankless propane water heater. It paid for itself the first year.

 

[Git]

Aeotec makes a Z Wave device that would do what you want, but 'all in' would probably be more than $100, but then if you are interested, you start using some other Home Automation type switches, sensors, etc

Here is the Device. It will show the usage in kWh as well as allowing you to remotely turning it off and on.

To make this work, you would need some sort of 'Z-Wave compatible Hub' - like Smart Things or something along that line

I recently purchased a similar smart switch designed for 120v, and this is the kind of info I can access from Homeseer Software

 

[Git]

Here is a 'clamp' type device that is similar. I am thinking about buying the other one I posted just to monitor my Mini Split usage

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I won't do anything. Just want to know how much electric is being used by the water heater. Simliar to running my motorcycles on a dyno. Curiosity.

well to do that, you would get a clamp meter and measure the current. a clamp meter measures the power in real time at that moment just like a dyno.

if you want total usage, then you need an electric meter.

but electric water heaters use lots of electricity. switch to gas if you can

 

[75gmck25]

During a military tour in Hawaii I found that the water heater was the biggest electric consumer we had in the house (no A/C). Installing an insulation blanket helped, but electric cost was still high.

We installed an Intermatic timer that turned the tank water heater on for about two hours in the morning (getting ready for work), and about two hours in the evening (washing dishes, etc.). I don't remember the details, but it did cut electric usage quite a bit, and was very painless. The timer also had a manual bypass switch for times when you wanted more hot water during the day. These timers are still available for about $40.

Bruce

 

[checkthisout]

On Demand electric water heaters are cheap but you do need the electrical service to support it.

I just stayed at a house where they had one of those heat pump water heaters. That's neat. As a side benefit, it cooled the garage off.