Stop the environmental police banging on your door with The OWL
In this day and age where you can’t even buy a non-organic carrot without being blamed for melting an iceberg, we felt it only right to try a gadget that will stop the environmental police banging on your door
In all seriousness, in the UK approximately 25% of our carbon emissions come from the energy we use in our homes, this is where the OWL wireless electricity monitor comes in.
The OWL is an energy monitor that uses a wireless transmitter to provide you with a plethora of data on energy use. It was recently voted ‘best buy’ for energy monitors by Which (www.which.co.uk).
When you open the box, you’ll find 3 key parts (batteries and instructions excluded). Wrapped in recyclable material are a monitor, a sender unit and a sensor. The illustrated quick start guide is brilliant and ensures you’re up and running almost instantly. We had our monitor set up within 5 minutes. All you need to do is fit the sensor over the correct wire of the electricity meter, put the batteries in the sensor and monitor, then pair the sender box to the monitor. If you’re worried about wire splicing and getting electrocuted, don’t be, there’s no bare-wire contact needed, although the instructions do stress to be careful. Pairing was really straightforward. The monitor found the sender box immediately and the range is excellent, even between thick walls. The sender box comes with a mounting bracket so everything is nice and neat.
When all the basics were in place, we could have left it to run for itself, but you’ll get far more useful information out of it by playing around with the settings. The menu system is relatively simple and there are just 3 buttons that control everything. It reminded us of a digital watch, only on a much larger screen.
We think the majority of people who buy this will be most interested in the tariff feature. You can configure up to four tariffs. You enter the cost for each tariff and at what time a particular tariff starts. The feature we liked is setting an alarm that sounds when you go over a specified amount. We tested this out to see how long it would take us to spend fifty pence. The numerous times we boiled the kettle, it surprisingly didn’t take long! It would have been nice if the tariff options were a little more comprehensive, for example being able to set the first 100 KW to a reduced price for every month, a feature on our electricity bill.
The monitor has a pop out stand so it can be placed almost anywhere, or alternatively it can be hung on a wall. The main section of the screen is dominated by the real time cost, energy or green house gas emissions depending on which one you decide to use. It’s easy to switch between them all. Other information on the screen shows the time, temperature and the total cost, energy or green house gases. Historical data is also available showing what you used last week, month, quarter or year. This is good to see how much you’re using and what kind of figure you can expect to see on your next bill! It’s a shame that you can’t connect the monitor to your PC to really analyse your usage.
Unless you’re really into chemistry, we think most people will find the cost setting the best. It’s surprising how interesting and effective this is, which is where the OWL really shows its strengths. After just a few minutes, we were experimenting with the lights, computers, the kettle and anything else with an electrical current running through it to see how much of a difference it made to the meter. It did make us realise how much of a difference turning a few appliances off makes, which in our eyes shows the device is serving its purpose. It’s almost fun!
OneNationMagazine.com gives The Owl *****
Overall we’d say that, excluding one or two limitations, this is a very informative and useful gadget, one that we think every home should have. A more comprehensive tariff setup, PC connectivity and perhaps a colour screen with graphics would be nice to have features, but for the cost of this in comparison to other monitors, it is very good value for money. As it says on the box, it will encourage you to reduce energy bills and help save the environment, goals we think this device helps to deliver.
The OWL wireless electricity monitor and other products in their range are available now at www.theowl.com
Did you know that:
Using old appliances like electric ovens and fridges can add £200 to your yearly energy bill? This can cost you twice the amount of electricity than a new one
Leaving machines like TVs and hi-fis on standby when not in use can add a further £37 to your annual bill?
Leaving a phone charger plugged in will cost you £12 a year and for a laptop £39.40?
The average UK household spends £93.44 yearly on standard lightbulbs? Energy-efficient versions use four times less electricity
Washing machines and dishwashers running on half loads use twice the amount of electricity at an extra cost of £251.10 to your year bill? **
* Source: Energy Savings Trust
** Source: Which? Magazine
*** Source: Ofgem
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