Black & Decker EM100B Energy Saver Series Power Monitor Review

Manufacturer:
Model: EM100B
Price: $99.99
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With all the focus on Being Green and conserving energy, Black & Decker has some pretty cool new tools to help you save some money and energy like their Energy Saver Series EM100B Power Monitor. This tool monitors your electric usage and gives real time readings in both dollars and KWH from your electric meter. While there are always some obvious things that can be done to save some money with your homes energy usage like taking shorter showers, washing your dishes by hand and keeping lights off in rooms that are not being used; sometimes it can be a little tricky to find where your energy dollars are escaping to. With new tools like this from Black and Decker, homeowners have some more power to them to reduce energy consumption and SAVE MONEY.

Testing and Usage

The Black & Decker EM100B Power Monitor is a pretty easy way to monitor your electrical usage to help you better control your energy consumption. The system is pretty simple and what you need to do is mount the waterproof, wireless outdoor monitor on your electric meter. Many times we get tools in that are pretty self explanatory. This is not the case with the Power Monitor and we suggest that you give the user guide a good read to make sure that you install the outdoor monitor correctly for the type of meter you have and also that you properly program and set up the indoor monitor station. Reading the manual was pretty easy and helped us to get our system installed and running in less than a half hour’s time.

We must stress that it is important to make sure that you have a compatible electric meter with this system before you purchase it so that you can avoid the frustration of not being able to use it. The good news is that it should work with about 90% of the residential electric meters that are in service in the United States. Just to be helpful, we included this little graphic to better help you see what meters the Power Monitor will work with.  

As far as usage, once the outdoor monitor is up and running, the syncopation and programming of the indoor power monitor is pretty straightforward. We liked the fact that you could watch the kilowatt hours (KWH) tick off as you used them and, for those who want to get even more sophisticated, you could use data from your monthly electric bill to put in your actual rates. Doing this allows the monitor to calculate how much money you are spending on your electric in real-time. While we have not had our monitor installed for a complete billing cycle, we are happy to report that it appears that  the Black & Decker Power Monitor is very accurate in its readings. We can conclude this because the amounts that it says we are using are in agreement with what we usually spend at this time of year. Advanced features can work with any type of billing rate, including flat rate billing, separate peak and off-peak rates, or tiered billing structures.

Weatherproof Outdoor Meter Mounted Sensor – While we have not had any trouble with this on our meter (yet), we wonder what the utility company’s meter reader might think of it. It would be a real bummer if they decided to remove without your knowing it. According to warning stickers on our electric meter, it seems like the utility company usually takes their meters pretty seriously. We suggest you check with your local utility provider before you install one of these just to make sure you are allowed and that they will leave it alone when they see it.

Now you are probably wondering how you save money with this thing. This is where the tricky side of energy conservation comes in. That potential 20% in savings that is claimed on the package comes from what we like to call lifestyle changes. What this means is that you can use the monitor to see how much power you use to keep your A/C system set at 68 degrees and it will quickly show you how much less power you would use if you ran your A/C system at 72 degrees. Here are a few more ideas that could result in potential savings:

•  Run your dishwasher only when it is completely full
• Take shorter showers (this not only saves water, but also conserves the electric energy required to heat the water)
• Unplug those electronics and appliances that  rarely get used.

Indoor Handheld Power Monitor

Conclusion

The bottom line is that the Black & Decker Energy Saver Power Monitor is a pretty effective system. We found it easy to use and liked that it delivered real-time data. What comes in the box is: the Cordless monitor station, weatherproof outdoor sensor, one shim, one alignment guide and the instructions (which are a must read!). For our value rating we gave it a 7/10 because we think that even though it might cost a hundred bucks to start with, it might be worth it in the long run if it helps you save money monthly. For our performance rating we gave it a 5/10 because it can prove to be a challenge for some customers to configure. Even with the detailed instructions, you still need to have some technical abilities to understand your electric bill and input that information correctly into the Power Monitor programming. 

About Black & Decker
Black & Decker is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of power tools and accessories, hardware and home improvement products, and technology-based fastening systems.

Specs

• Minute by minute energy consumption tracking
• Wireless system allows for easy installation and use
• Displays energy use in kilowatts and dollars
• Requires 4 AA batteries (not included)
• 2-year warranty