The following energy monitoring devices offer quick and easy ways to understand your electricity usage.
Which product you need will depend on what you want to find out:
- To monitor any plug-in appliance, such as a fridge or TV, use a Power Meter.
- Use an Energy Monitor to track an entire property, such as a home or small business.
- To measure something like a granny flat or EV charger, use a Sub Meter.
Checking and measuring your electricity usage is surprisingly straightforward once you know how.
1. How to Measure the Electricity Usage of Appliances
A hairdryer, kettle, and mobile phone charger have one thing in common: a standard power plug. Using a plug-in power meter, you can measure anything with a 10-amp power plug.
Firstly, you plug the power meter into an electrical outlet (wall socket). Then, plug your appliance into the front of the power meter. It will show you a variety of informative readings, including watts (W), kilowatt-hours (kWh), and cost ($).
We currently sell these plug-in power meters:
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Reduction Revolution Power Meter This low-cost option does the job for ad-hoc monitoring around the home. It's our most popular choice thanks to its compact size and ease of use. |
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Power Meter With Separate Screen This unit has a small, separate display screen at the end of a 1.5-metre power cord. The cord makes it easy to access even when connected to power outlets behind appliances or furniture. |
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The Power-Mate is a professional tool for energy auditors, electricians, and tech enthusiasts. Unlike our other power meters, it projects values into the future per hour, week, quarter and year for easy cost predictions. |
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Used only for measuring 15-amp appliances found in commercial kitchens, caravan parks, and elsewhere. 15A plugs are identifiable by their larger earth pin. |
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This power meter is an add-on to the Powersensor whole-home energy monitoring system - more on these below. |
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Add an extra sensor to an existing Powersensor system to monitor hardwired appliances with accessible conduit (such as air conditioners, pool pumps, and ovens). |
2. How to Check the Electricity Usage of a Home or Small Business
You'll soon realise that plug-in power meters miss some critical energy users that are 'hard-wired' or inaccessible, such as:
- Lighting,
- Air Conditioners,
- Ceiling Fans,
- Solar PV Panels,
- Outdoor Spas,
- Electric Hot Water Systems.
To track the electricity consumption of these, you'll need to install an electricity usage monitor. Energy monitors give you a real-time display of your total power consumption. They are typically installed at your main electricity meter board.
We sell these wireless energy monitoring options:
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This stand-alone power monitor does not require an internet connection or wifi to work. It has a large display screen, and you can download historical usage data via USB. It's suitable for use at single-, two-, or three-phase properties. |
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This energy monitor (and app) is ideal for households with solar panels. Powersensor connects to your wifi network to operate. |
3. How to Measure Electricity Consumption for On-billing (Or Similar)
Another issue you may encounter is the need to meter power usage in a particular area or for a large appliance.
Potential use cases include:
- Buildings like a granny flat, workshop or shed,
- Accommodation or tenancies like rooms, cabins, or sites,
- Large electrical loads like electric vehicle (EV) chargers, air conditioners, or hot water systems.
The good thing about these is that they usually have their own power circuit. This makes them an ideal candidate for an electrical sub-meter. An electrical sub-meter allows you to meter a circuit or group of circuits (sub-board) to split costs or to be better informed.
We offer these electricity sub-meters:
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Reduction revolution Electricity Sub Meter Single- Phase A compact, high-accuracy, and high-capacity electricity sub meter. Suitable for all single-phase circuits or switchboards with a capacity of up to 100A. |
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LANX Australis 3-Phase Sub Meter Our LANX sub meter offers a solution for 3-phase properties. Also rated up to 100A. |
Still got questions?
Click here to browse our entire range of power meters, energy monitors and thermal cameras.
