GEM Captured Data & Resolution

[Teken]

With the help of Ben, Paul, and various other forum members from the SEG group. Here are some preliminary power use in my home. Some of the captured data is really surprising to me as I was not aware of certain aspects of power use, duration, and duty cycles.

Also some devices seem to go into different modes which I was not aware of. One key data point is the refrigerator. In the included screen capture you will see a very consistent on / off time and the power it consumes during its operations. There are however two data points which spike up 4 times the normal values for a short period of time.

Could this be a defrost cycle kicking in?

Also, I noticed that some very low level readings were being captured and recorded by the GEM an being displayed by the SEG website. I know the stated CT tolerance is +/- 1 watt depending upon which one is being used.

But, surprisingly the GEM has been able to capture consistent low level power consumption of .33 watts and to 1 watt. I will be using some high end Fluke data loggers to compare if what I see is truly accurate and consistent in what the GEM / SEG is capturing.

Because if its true than all the waiting for the GEM has been well worth it! Regardless here are a few screen shots along with time line, power, and duration of each.

EDIT: When I went back and played back my security video. It was clear the last two blips where from me opening the fridge to get breakfast / lunch. It was the internal light bulb turning on while the fridge was running. This explains the brief power blip during those two events.

The only one not explained is the 400+ power blip . . .

Teken . . .

[Teken]

Here are some low wattage captures for the dryer. The dryer when off is consuming 0 watts. Attached to the dryer plug is a Insteon Dryer Linc phase coupler. The rated power consumption is 2-3 watts.

As you can see the device does indeed consume 2-3 watts depending upon if and when its asked to couple the two legs of the electrical system.

Teken . . .

[Teken]

The following screen captures are the extremely low power obtained from the GEM. For everyones reference this circuit has one hospital grade surge alarm outlet. The home is outfitted with many of these point of use outlets to protect mission critical as well as high value connected devices.

The manufacture states a residue power consumption 0.3 watts. The GEM for what ever reason(s) is able to capture this very low level power consumption. I will be using some test gear to monitor and measure if these values recorded are indeed accurate and reliable.

Again, so far I am very pleased and impressed with this GEM module.

Teken . . .

[Teken]

Displayed below is my home office which includes many Insteon / network devices within this room. At idle this rooms circuit consumes 4 watts all day long. In the next capture you will see the portable air conditioner kick in and what it consumes for the three hours it has been on.

Lastly, you will see a portable office fan which kicked in to move the cool A/C air around the home.

Teken . . .

[Automate]

Thanks for posting these.

So did you adjust any settings to fine tune these values or are the settings the default out of the box setting?

[Teken]

Thanks for posting these.

So did you adjust any settings to fine tune these values or are the settings the default out of the box setting?

These values are the default values used by the GEM module. I did however use my Fluke data logger DVM to measure both primary mains for input voltage. I compared the two sides of the electrical feed to the PT settings used in GEM.

The PT *Type* was left at the default 187 value. Increasing / decreasing this PT Type field will allow you to fine tune the GEM to your homes line voltage more accurately. My expectation was to be within 2-3 watts.

So far the GEM has measured exactly down to the one watt, and far below that. I will be hooking up the data logger this week to measure key circuits and compare the two readings captured.

If they are different than I shall reply in kind and also note the difference(s) in my service logs. Speaking practically, if I am within 1 watt I am more than pleased. I don't feel being off more than 2-3 watts is acceptable to be honest.

As it would defeat the whole purpose of monitoring those vampire draws, along with those small consumption circuits and not ever knowing what their true consumption is.

Below I have provided another screen capture of another key circuit. This *Panel Plug* powers many mission critical electronics in my home. The average power consumption is 100 watts and fluctuates based conditions such as battery charging, lights being turned on, and of course the central exhaust in the home being turned on for the bathrooms etc.

The second graph shows the three power spikes each time the central exhaust fan is turned on the home. This information has helped me a great deal in knowing what is the best course of action to take in my Home Automation (HA) set up.

Initially I was using the central exhaust to vent the home and this device is also controlled by my ISY controller to limit its use to 10 minute intervals. Knowing that this one device when turned on also initiates the furnace blower which consumes some insane amount of 500 pluss watts.

I have programmed the HA controller to use other methods to vent the home which require less power and also meets the same needs. Only *IF* the home still can not maintain the stated temperature will the HA invoke the central exhaust to vent the remaining heat from with in the home.

With out the GEM it would have been very tedious in using a clamp on meter to measure and determine what each circuit was consuming as well as the long term affect and costs of such.

Teken . . .

[Teken]

Here is the Furnace Blower which comes on to circulate the air when the Central Exhaust is asked to come on. You can see 4 power events each time the central exhaust is turned on, which initiates the furnace blower to come on as well.

419 watts is the average power used for the ten minutes the device is allowed to run based on my HA controllers programming.