RFXPower unit for electricity monitoring

[b_weijenberg]

The RFXPower device measures the real used electricity power in kilowatt-hours. The total measured value is transmitted at predefined intervals. The RF data can be received by the RFXCOM receiver.

There are 2 types available.
For the US:
- a 120 Volts version with a 433.92MHz RF transmitter.
For Europe:
- a 230 Volts version with a 433.92MHz RF transmitter.

The maximum load that can be measured with the standard Current Transformer is 100 Ampere.

The installation is easy. A Current Transformer must be clamped around 1 wire of the power line and the device must be connected to a wall socket. The RFXPower unit starts then measuring the power usage and transmits the total measured value at predefined intervals.

The Homeseer ACRF plug-in version 1.2.0.3 supports this RFXPower.

The RFXPower will be available mid December but reservations can be made now to be sure to get one from the first production batch.

Bert

Edited: 120V / 310MHz removed. This unit is only available on special request.

[John Downe]

Bert, so this will not work with ACRF and W800 receiver like the other RFXSensors?
John Downe

[b_weijenberg]

Hi John,

Edited:
The RFXPower will operate with the RFXCOM receiver.
At this moment it is not clear to me if the W800 can be used. If so the parity check is not possible and the maximum value that can be measured before the counter rolls over to zero is 655.35kWh (still a lot) This situation is more or less comparable to the Digimax receiving with a W800.

The RFXPower shown in the attachment is received by the RFXCOM receiver.

Other reasons to use the RFXCOM receiver:
It has an USB interface,
great receiving range,
The 433.92MHz receiver can receive: X10, RFXPower, RFXSensor and Oregon Scientific
2 receivers in 1 USB interface so a 310MHz, a Visonic receiver or a 433.92MHz KlikAan-KlikUit (Nexa) receiver can be added to the 433.92MHz X10 receiver.

Bert

<b>Download Attachment:</b> [img]images/icon_paperclip.gif[/img] RFXPower.jpg<br />3.06 KB

[b_weijenberg]

I just got a message from Oman that the ACRF plugin doesn't support the RFXPower in 32 bits mode yet. So the W800 can't be used for now. Oman is studying if it is possible to implement the 32 bits support.

The best option for now is to order the 433.92MHz RFXPower and the 433.92MHz RFXCOM X10/Oregon receiver.
This configuration enables you to receive:
X10 lighting and security
RFXSensor
RFXPower
Oregon Scientific sensors

Bert

[b_weijenberg]

The RFXPower 230V is available now at http://www.rfxcom.com/

[Lennart]

Hi,

I have a question about the capabilities of the RFXPower unit. I have a number of solar panels (photovoltaic, PV) installed on the roof of my house. These solar panels feed energy into the utility network. I am looking for a way to monitor the amount of energy that these panels have generated. Would it be possible to use the RFXPower unit for this purpose as well? (I.e. not energy consumption, but energy generation!). The panels have an electricity "group" of their own.

Thanks,

Lennart

[b_weijenberg]

I assume the output is about 230V 50Hz and the current doesn't exceed 100A? In that case it is possible to use the RFXPower to measure the power generated by your solar panels.

[b_weijenberg]

Homeseer users:
Find attached the script that displays the hourly cost and CO2 polution.
Create 2 virtual devices T2 (CO2 polution) and T3 (hourly cost).



<b>Download Attachment:</b> [img]images/icon_paperclip.gif[/img] RFXPower_log.zip<br />12.8 KB

[mric]

Hi Bert,
what about Mac User? do you know if someone did a plugin to read rfxpower information ? [:)]

[b_weijenberg]

Hi mric,

I don't know if somebody has created a plug-in for the mac.
The standard plug-in of Indigo is only able to receive 32 bits but for the RFXPower you need 48 bits. This requires the RFXCOM receiver to run in Variable length mode and the plug-in must be changed. The 1st byte contains the number of bits of the received RF packet. If you are able to change the standard plug-in in Indigo and use the 1st byte to know the packet length you can probably use it but you need to have good software knowledge to implement this.

Bert