SaveOmeter - the first monitor to read your gas meter!
The new SaveOmeter from Eco1 is the first domestic UK monitor which is able to read your gas* meter as well as helping you save electricity. Officially launched in March 2011 by the team who introduced wireless electricity monitoring to the UK with the original Electrisave, the SaveOmeter is aimed at customers who may not have previously considered using such a device. It can be purchased as either a regular wireless electricity monitor system, or with the additional gas meter reading pack which includes simple to attach fittings suitable for the gas meters found in over 50% of UK homes. You can check if your gas meter is compatible by referring to the guide here (Requires PDF reader):
Keep in touch with your bills
Eco1 understand that there is a large group of consumers who already do their best to keep their utility bills as low as possible, yet constantly worry about how much their next bill will be. The SaveOmeter keeps track of your accumulating bills for you and is able to show you approximately how much you have spent on both electricity and gas* since your last bill in pounds and pence at the press of a button. To use this reassuring feature, you just need to re-set the cost totals for electricity and gas* on the display each time you receive a bill. These cost totals are independent of the other information stored for longer term cost comparisons and can be reset whenever required. We think that this is an excellent idea that none of the other systems on the market offer, which should be very reassuring to customers living on a fixed income. The display also incorporates an easy to understand bar chart at the bottom of the screen which represents your daily electricity consumption, showing if it's rising, falling, or remaining reasonably constant. For most homes, we would expect to see the bar graph fairly level throughout the week with two slightly higher bars at the weekend. This is useful if perhaps an appliance in your home is suddenly consuming more electricity than normal, or has been left on by mistake.
Traffic lights
The SaveOmeter also incorporates a handy 'traffic light' system which we think will be very useful to customers who are less keen on facts and figures. This simple coloured light system makes you constantly aware of approximately how much electricity is currently being used and can be set according to your own household consumption. There are five bands: Off, Green, Amber, Red and Red Flashing. We've seen a similar system incorporated into the Wattson monitor, although the ability to tailor the warning lights to your own consumption make it much more useful in the SaveOmeter. We'd suggest setting the traffic light system so that green indicates your normal 'ideal' running cost and the unlit state be used for indication of your overnight or unoccupied 'base level' consumption. Settings for amber, red and flashing red could then be used to signify increasingly high use according to your consumption.
Large format re-chargeable display
We think it's pretty safe to say at this point that the SaveOmeter seems to have been designed with 'more mature' users in mind. To be quite frank, it's not going to win any beauty contests but it has a large, clear, easy to read display and keeps you informed of your energy use in a non-technical way without needing to understand all about units and kilowatt hours. The supplied instructions on setting up the display are clear and easy to follow. The display unit itself is fully backlit and can be run with the backlight on constantly when docked in the charging cradle. Yes, the SaveOmeter uses rechargeable NiMH batteries in both the display unit and the transmitter, either of which can be placed in the cradle for charging whenever needed. This mains powered charging base design offers the best of both worlds. Always fully charged and portable when you need it to be.
What's the frequency Kenneth?
Over the years we've received occasional reports from wireless electricity monitor users that they suspect their systems have either been disrupted by or caused problems with various other wireless equipment in their homes. Although these electricity monitor systems operate well below the range of wireless computer networks (WiFi), they have all so far used the crowded 433MHz band which is unregulated. We've noted that the SaveOmeter uses the higher frequency 868MHz ISM band which should mean far less likelihood of cross-channel interference from the likes of wireless doorbells, car remote controls, wireless alarms, etc. Well done!
Things you might miss
You can check out the full specification of the SaveOmeter by using our Energy Monitor Comparison Chart but we thought it only fair to point out a few things that experienced monitor users might miss. Firstly, the SaveOmeter doesn't connect to a computer or the internet. For many buyers, a lack of PC connectivity won't matter in the slightest, but if you feel you need it, you'll have to choose another monitor instead. We also noted that the display expresses the 'live' consumption of electricity in pence per hour only, it doesn't display this in kilowatts per hour. Lastly, the data memory is used only to compile information for the display as pre-defined periods and is not accessible by any other means. You can probably see the link between all these 'missing features' in that they're all kind of geeky. So our conclusion here is that the SaveOmeter is not for geeks - it's for everybody else!
Extras you wouldn't expect
While there are a few things missing that the geeks might have wanted, the SaveOmeter also includes a few extras. In a first for domestic wireless electricity monitors, Eco1 have added a simple barometric weather forecasting system to the SaveOmeter display, represented by a range of weather symbols. This is a nice little feature and we'll have to see how well it performs over time. The display also permanently shows the date and time in the format of your choice (12/24hr), updated automatically by the free to use radio controlled time signal. This means the clock is always spot-on and there's no need to adjust it each spring and autumn. For customers on Economy 7, you'll be pleased to find that the SaveOmeter is fully compatible with up to four different charging periods allowing you to set the correct rate according to the time of day.
Our verdict
It's clear to us that the SaveOmeter is aimed at a different group of customers compared to all the other monitors we've seen so far. It's also the first monitor with the capability to track gas consumption by actually reading pulses from the meter. Yes, the gas meter reading facility does come at an additional cost, but to many, the reassurance of having a good idea of what their bills will be throughout the year may be very important indeed. Everyone in the family will be able to understand the simple traffic light sytem, whether aged eight or one hundred and eight. This is a non-technical monitor, perfect for those who never quite managed to master the dark art of programming a video recorder and who always find it difficult to understand their energy bills.
SaveOmeter
SaveOmeter is a brand new product launched in March 2011 by the people who brought the very first wireless electricity monitor to the UK. The large format, easy to read wireless display unit sits on a charging dock, keeping it fully topped up and ready to use around the home. SaveOmeter concentrates on bill tracking and simplicity. All figures are displayed in easy to understand pounds and pence, with a simple traffic light system making it even easier to see how much electricity your home is using.
In a first for UK monitors, a gas meter reading kit is available as an optional accessory. This kit includes a secondary transmitter and two easy to fit clip on meter readers, making it compatible with over 50% of gas meters installed in the UK.
Note: If you intend to use SaveOmeter's gas meter reading function, you should check that your gas meter is compatible before ordering, using the guide here (requires PDF Reader):
| Latest Offers | Price | Delivery | Total | Buy Now | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | £45.00 | £5.10 | £50.10 | VISIT SITE | |
| Smarter Products | £59.95 | FREE | £59.95 | VISIT SITE | |
SaveOmeter Gas Transmitter
This easy to install gas meter reader and transmitter pack is for use exclusively with the SaveOmeter wireless electricity monitor. It is compatible with over 15 million gas meters in the UK, but you should check first that your meter is suitable before purchasing, using the guide below (Requires PDF reader):
If your gas meter is not compatible with the SaveOmeter reader, your supplier should be willing to replace it with a newer 'pulse type' meter as part of the preparations for the 2020 Smart Metering rollout.
| Latest Offers | Price | Delivery | Total | Buy Now | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smarter Products | £26.95 | £2.95 | £29.90 | VISIT SITE | |
| Amazon | £33.99 | £3.89 | £37.88 | VISIT SITE | |
Wireless Energy Monitors
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Heating Oil Tank Monitor / Alarm
Micro Generation
Energy Saving Accessories
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- Radiator Booster
- Thermal Leak Detector
- EcoTEK
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- Shower Timers
- One-Click
Direct Replacement LED Lamps
- GU10 LED Spotlights
- MR16 LED 12v Spotlights
- Traditional 'Bulb' Shaped
- EarthLED LED Lamps
- LED 'Screw Fit' Spotlights
- Dimmable LED lamps
- Downlight Fittings
- Optional Beam Lenses
