I've been considering an Emporia Vue 2 for a while now. It would end up being about half the price of this. Does anyone know anything about it? I'd like to go open source, but my primary motivation is lowering power costs, so its hard to justify doubling my ROI time.
I started using the Emporia Vue 2 about a month ago. Overall I'd say it's great. I hooked up a few circuits individually and I got crucial insight into unusually high energy usage from a heat pump + air handler + auxiliary heater setup.
I much prefer this approach (by Emporia and IoTaWatt) of multiple CTs (non-contact sensors applied to specific circuits) vs. the "Learning" devices that try to interpret what's using energy based on a signature of power usage, with reportedly very poor success.
The app is quit useful. I do wish I could get access to the raw data by default, without needing to send it through their cloud first (only way to get data off the decice) and submit an export request to get emailed a CSV.
The concept of installation was very simple – just put clips on wires.
However even with my entire electrical panel switched off at the main breaker, the supply from the meter is always live. So with the panel cover removed in order to install the clips, it would have been possible to touch the supply lines and get a lethal shock.
If you have any qualms about working safely in an electrical panel, hiring an electrician is the way to go.
