The Eyedro Monitor is a relatively easy-to-install digital home device, and a free Web app offers a wealth of reporting options including hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly electricity usage and estimated costs. You only get three sensors with the Eyedro Business kit and two with the Home kit ($199), so if you want to monitor multiple circuits, you’ll have to cough up another $99, $139, or $189 for the 1-sensor, 2-sensor, or 3-sensor expansion models (respectively). However, the sensors’ bulky size may limit how many you can fit inside your electrical panel. That aside, the Eyedro is a great system for monitoring just how much electricity your various devices are using.
Design and Installation
The folks at Eyedro sent me a Business kit (EBWEM1), which includes a wireless gateway module, a wireless sensor module, an Ethernet cable, a Quick Start guide, two power adapters, and three 200A sensors (400A-5,000A sensors are available for businesses that require more capacity). They also sent along an expansion kit that included 3 sensors, a power adapter, and a wireless sensor module.
Smaller than a deck of cards, the gateway module measures 0.8 by 2.7 by 2.7 inches (HWD) and has a LAN port and a jack for the power adapter. The sensor module is the same size as the gateway module and has three sensor inputs and a jack for the power adapter. The wireless modules are not Wi-Fi enabled; they communicate with each other via a proprietary mesh network with up to a 1,000-foot range, which means you can install the gateway module close to your router (the sensor module must be installed at the electrical panel, which in my house is located in the basement).
To read the full review by PC Magazine click here.