The Emporia Vue is a HAN (Home Area Network) energy monitor that connects to a “smart” electrical meter via the Zigbee protocol. My electrical provider is Southern California Edison (SCE), and as far as I know, they’ve been installing smart meters in homes and replacing older meters with smart meters since 2012 (maybe earlier).
I bought this device for $40 on Amazon. It’s easy to setup. The monitor needs to be within 75 feet of the electrical meter (I have an outlet inside my garage that’s 6 feet away), connected to Wi-Fi, and then activated by the utility provider. Emporia’s setup has direct links to forms and information on activation for each service provider, which is convenient. I submitted my application to SCE after the initial installation and it was activated within 48 hours. SCE will even give me a $25 rebate toward the cost of the device. Sweet.
After a couple of days of monitoring, I have a very clear view of my power consumption and solar power generation. My energy usage on SCE’s website for January 25th was -4.39 kWh (I generated more energy than I consumed), and my energy usage according the Emporia app was -4.40 kWh, which is basically exactly the same. Awesome.
If you’re looking for a more accurate view of your home’s energy usage, this device seems to work well. My solar installer and monitor is SunPower, and their app isn’t reflecting accurate usage numbers. I suspect it’s a hardware issue that they need to address, but even if their equipment was working properly, getting information directly from the electrical meter is more precise than anything a solar operator can provide.
SCE billed usage.
Emporia app usage reading.