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Monitoring electric usage of heating system on a seperate floor

Monitoring electric usage of heating system on a seperate floor


  #1  
Old 11-16-05, 07:00 AM
equality
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Monitoring electric usage of heating system on a seperate floor

I have a 3 floor single family home. The third floor has a seperate heating system (electric baseboard). I have never used this heating system but will like to start using it. Is there a way I can monitor the electric usage of this heating system on the third floor. I will still like to have 1 main electric meter for the entire house. But I am looking for a way to monitor the electricity consumption of third floor.

Any ideas, suggestions on how this can be done are appreciated. thanks.
 
  #2  
Old 11-16-05, 07:06 AM
R
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Is this heat 120 or 240 volts? Is it thermostat controlled? By how many thermostats? How many circuits from main panel?

One thought would be to place an electric timer on the line and simply time how long the heater is on. You can then multiply the time by the wattage of the heaters and come up with power consumed (the power for the timer will be negligible).
 
  #3  
Old 11-16-05, 07:07 AM
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Originally Posted by equality
I have a 3 floor single family home. The third floor has a seperate heating system (electric baseboard). I have never used this heating system but will like to start using it. Is there a way I can monitor the electric usage of this heating system on the third floor. I will still like to have 1 main electric meter for the entire house. But I am looking for a way to monitor the electricity consumption of third floor.

Any ideas, suggestions on how this can be done are appreciated. thanks.
Pay close attention to your monthly electric bill. Compare the bill before using the bb heat with the one when the bb heat is used.
 
  #4  
Old 11-16-05, 05:59 PM
equality
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thanks for your reply. It is 120 volts, there is no thermostat, and there are 3 circuit breakers from the main panel for the third floor.

Is there a possibility that I can have these 3 circuit breakers go into a seperate meter that will monitor the electricity consumption of third floor but from electric company billing point of view, I still have only 1 main meter. If this is a possibility, it will be very helpful if I can get some tips on doing this.

thanks.
 
  #5  
Old 11-16-05, 08:25 PM
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You can install a sub-meter for your own usage. There are many models available.
Emon has one that has a split core CT so you can install it without disconnecting the wires. http://www.emon.com/html/econsingle_g.html
 
 

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