Considering the amount of work we knew we'd be putting it through, such as figuring out how much it costs to leave your tech on standby, testing products such as the best electric heaters and the best electric blankets and throws, we knew its three-year warranty would come in handy. What other energy monitors are available? Many-for-one Device Sharing: This sharing feature enables members to co-manage devices so each room they occupy is a tailor-made environment perfect for them.- Set Appliance Timers: Set timers on all our Google Home and Alexa Accessories to arrange schedules around your daily routine. The MAXCIO app renders your home a truly intelligent entity.

Remote Control: Adjust settings and control your appliances whenever and wherever using the intuitive MAXCIO app remote control feature. For this article, we're focusing solely on the kinds of energy monitors you can plug into an outlet. What is the difference between a smart meter and a plug-in energy monitor? Asides from proper calibration, two other useful features to have are a built-in display and being able to input your energy unit price directly into the monitor. Having these features ensures you to get a direct reading on how much something costs to run. This can save you from having to do more maths, always a plus.MAXCIO is an innovative app engineered to streamline smart appliance management, online shopping, and customer technical support. In short, the MAXCIO app helps you live a more efficient life. More importantly, it enables you to fully inhabit happiness.

When buying, one of the most important features to consider is proper calibration, which will ensure your readings are correct. Energy monitors should be consistent with the manufacturer's own kilowatt-hour readings for various appliances. You should also be able to get consistent results when using other monitors side by side.

Are smart light switches worth it?

While it is more expensive than the average energy monitor, we splurged on this one because RS Components has a good reputation for its monitors being well calibrated. If you're trying to figure out the energy usage of one appliance or power strip, a plug-in energy monitor might be best to use instead. It's important to keep in mind that buying an energy monitor won't automatically reduce your bills – you'll have to do that yourself by finding and unplugging power-hungry electronics.

There is a lot to IFTTT and it definitely deserves a whole blog of its own, but in a nutshell, IFTTT is what allows you to add true automation and customization to your smart home, which your smart light switches are an integral part of. Using an energy monitor is one of the best ways to clearly ascertain how much electricity you're using on individual appliances —hopefully helping you to work out where money can be saved in the long run. You can still determine the energy usage of certain appliances by looking for spikes in your power consumption when you have electricity-hungry devices running, but this isn't always accurate. Measuring your power can help you cut down your energy bills and consumption, saving you money in the long term. How much do energy monitors cost?If you want to access the smart features that smart switches have to offer, like mood presets and timer functions, it will need a means to communicate with your smartphone or smart hub system. That doesn’t necessarily mean a WiFi connection - smart light switches can also use Bluetooth. If there is no WiFi or Bluetooth connection, it will still work as a normal light switch. With a smart meter, you don't have to take manual meter readings and report them to your energy provider as the meter will do this automatically. If you want to find out how much something costs per use, plug in your appliance or electronics into the monitor and set your unit cost. Then use as normal (eg a single kettle boil), see the result in either kilowatt-hours or cost, then reset the monitor before your next read. After getting a few results, you can calculate the average cost from there. You can hook up and measure almost anything that uses electricity, as long as it has a three-pronged UK plug. This includes single devices such as a kettle, washing machine, or electric oven. Power monitors can also measure how much energy several different electronics use through a power strip, such as a TV and speaker setup or a desktop computer with multiple screens.