****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I always buy my products for full price ($117 in November 2016) and never accept discounted products for reviews. My rating criteria is as follows. If the product works as is advertised and the quality is in line with the price then I give it five stars tentatively, then deduct stars for usability problems, functionality problems, flaws, quality, etc.I really wanted this in order to just measure electricity use of my stove. I have used Kill A Watt devices in the past and they aren't capable of measuring 220V, so I bought this. What I learned is that although it is possible to measure just the stove, you still have to hook it up at the circuit box, and depending upon how much "slack" there is in your wires this still might not work.With my Bachelor of Arts degree, I surmised that I should just be able to clamp this around the cord. That did not work, which may not surprise those of you who did not major in History. So I went to the circuit box, and--not believing in electricity--was able to be protected from its dangerous forces long enough to clamp this around the wires that send magical electricity to my stove without getting shocked. Each clamp must only enclose a single wire or the god of electricity will reject your offering, and if you touch something without having made the appropriate ritual sacrifices, you may be struck dead so be careful.Once your clamps are in place, you must again invoke the Gods of Wireless technology to pair the display to the transmitter. For me, the pairing process was simple and quick. Each module is powered by batteries--and there is a setting to "refresh" the data at slower intervals, I assume in the interest of saving battery life.The display is crisp and easy to read, and the settings were easy to figure out. Initial quality seems quite high. It has a display of real time use, a weekly average and a monthly average, as well monetary costs and CO2 emissions associated with your electricity usage.I gave this five stars, because it does what it says it will do and does what it is meant to do well, however, it isn't exactly what I hoped it would be--a way for me to measure electricity usage of my 220 appliances that a Kill A Watt doesn't work on, but that I am interested in knowing about. For instance, I probably won't change my life much depending on what I learn about my stove's electricity use (I still gotta eat), but how much electricity does my hot tub use in December vs. July? Should I turn it off during the coldest parts of winter? This can answer those questions, but its not necessarily what it is made to do and you will need to dig into your breaker box, assume some risk, and hope there is enough room in your wires.My recommendation is that you need to think about what your needs are before you buy this relatively powerful but simple device. I've seen other reviews about using this for monitoring electricity in out-buildings, rental units, etc. I think its perfect for that, but if you are using this to charge renters for electricity or otherwise need it to account for true electricity costs, there are a couple things to remember. Despite the simplicity of the controls, electricity delivery and CO2 usage is fairly complex. Your electricity may cost more at different times of the day than others--and this device has a way to account for that--making it much more complex and accurate than a Kill A Watt.Likewise, if you really need to rely upon its CO2 feature, (I could see this being interesting in a classroom, or maybe you charge renters a carbon tax?) you need to understand where your electricity comes from--is it from a coal plant, natural gas, hydro, nuclear, etc..--and once again this device can incorporate those fine tuned details.However, if you are just looking for information, it may be a little expensive to be used as a consumer device just for information's sake. Its pretty awkward to use it to measure a single circuit like I wanted to, but is possible.In conclusion, it seems to be a good device, but I would swap it for a more simple 200 Kill A Watt if possible.
