Smart Meters Compared

Smart meters designed for residential applications are compared in the following tables.  We have separated these home energy monitors into three categories which are based upon the number of measurement points each offers. Click on any meter below for a specification table that compares similar products.

The first group of meters is designated as Single Point Measurement. These units are designed to measure power at the main breaker only and offer the lowest cost options:

TED 1000	Cent-A-Meter	Efergy E2	Owl CM119

The next group of meters is categorized as Multi-point Measurement. These home energy monitors provide measurement at the service entrance and have extra channels to track sub-panels or larger electrical loads.  Pricing is higher due to the additional channels and current transformer (CT) hardware.

TED 5000	eGauge	PowerSave Envi

The most advanced level of monitors fall into the Circuit Level Measurement category.  These devices are built from modules that can each measure a fixed number of circuits.  The modules can run stand alone or be linked to measure every circuit in the home.  To qualify for this category the system must be capable of measuring every breaker pole in a standard 200-amp, 40-circuit panel.

The cost of measuring every circuit in the home does come at a premium due to added CT's and additional features in the software.  However, the modular design does provide the flexibility to pick and choose which circuits to measure if the cost of full coverage is deemed to be too high.

Ecodog Fido	eMonitor	BrulTech Model 1240

If you have developed a residential monitoring system or know of one that is commercially available in the U.S. which is not listed here, please contact us if you would like to have it evaluated for inclusion on this site.