Smarthome introduces a line of power consumption monitoring devices

iMeter Solo

iMeter Solo (Item# 2423A1) is the first native INSTEON plug-in module that will allow you to measure power consumption of a single appliance or a lamp.

Simply plug an appliance (up to 15Amps) into iMeter and plug the iMeter into an outlet. You can then retrieve the data in the iMeter Solo from any compatible INSTEON computer controller such as HouseLinc 2 or ISY-99i. The data is stored as a .csv (comma-separated values) file format on your computer allowing you to open and create graphs to track energy consumption in programs such as Excel, Apple Numbers, OpenOffice, Google Docs and more.

Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, the new gadget will not be able to control the attached device (as in turning it On and Off). It will only collect the power usage data, which renders it most useful for application to always-on devices, such as refrigerators. Let’s wait and hope that all future LampLincs, SwitchLincs, ApplianceLincs, and other INSTEON modules will adopt this technology in the near future.

The iMeter Solo is expected to be in stock by 1/21/2011 and will retail for $39.99.

About Ruslan Ulanov 103 Articles
Ruslan Ulanov is a software engineer by day and Smart Home hacker by night. He got fascinated by potential of home automation over a decade ago, when it was available to select few. Over the years experimented with smart products using different technologies from X10 to Insteon to ZigBee. Actively supports new smart home developments on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

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