Bc hydro meters - $35rebate

msjboy · #1 10-29-2014, 08:06 PM

Bc hydro is selling real time electricity consumption meters ( 2 models) provided you have a smart meter. One can see exactly what is your cost/hr with whatever load. I might get one myself as it is $35 each for the cheaper Rainforest model.
http://www.bchydro.com/powersmart/re.../monitors.html

mike31154 · #2 10-29-2014, 09:26 PM

I decided to spring for the more costly EAGLE gateway as opposed to the cheaper EMU-2 monitor. I reckon if I'm going to take advantage of smart meter technology, I may as well spend a bit more for additional functions. Since I have a Google+ account, I'm able to use the 'cloud' features via wattvision.com without needing a separate account.

Total cost including taxes & shipping ended up around $75.

mark · #3 10-30-2014, 03:32 AM

is BC Hydro billing peak and off peak rates with the monitors?

mike31154 · #4 10-30-2014, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark

is BC Hydro billing peak and off peak rates with the monitors?

To the best of my knowledge, the billing scenario has not changed with the switch to smart meters. The 'monitors' for personal use are fairly new & need to be registered in order to work with your smart meter. They have a hardware MAC which needs to be approved by BC Hydro in order to communicate with the smart meter. The 'gateway' connects to your router through a standard ethernet cable. It also needs to be configured to work on your home network. I think the monitor works without having to be hooked up to a router & simply displays meter data with no other functionality. I can get most of that info already by simply logging on to my BC Hydro account & viewing the usage graphs there.

In my area, BC Hydro bills on a tier system as opposed to peak/off peak. This was an issue of contention for customers before the switch to smart meters, with BC Hydro promising they would not implement peak/off peak billing. It will be interesting to see how long that lasts. The screenshot below shows the residential conservation rate I am billed under. My rate is 7.25 cents/kWh up to 1354 kW. Once I exceed 1354 during the billing period, the rate increases to 11.27 cents/kWh. Time of day has no effect on the rate.