3 ms·

Hate to be a downer but there are a lot of products in this exact same space (several of which started 3/4 years ago and have since died.) Alertme is probably

by jordn 14y ago

Hate to be a downer but there are a lot of products in this exact same space (several of which started 3/4 years ago and have since died.) Alertme is probably one of the slickest (https://www.alertme.com/try_the_demo https://www.alertme.com/try_the_demo) and there are many others that just provide a nerd-happy line graph like this and even more with just the price/day calculation, but the problem they've all found is that after at most a month, people become disinterested. I'd like to see some innovation in how you can keep this relevant and interesting to the continual user.

savrajsingh 14y ago
Thanks for the feedback, and yes, we're working on keeping users engaged. Most of the competitors you reference require you to go inside of your breaker box (require an electrician) to set up in the United States, among other shortcomings.
- jordn 14y ago
  Ah that explains what I perceived was a very over-engineered way of measuring the current. I've used several of the clip on readers myself in the UK - trivial install - and in fact several British electric providers have sent out their own current usage displays to customers. Then again I haven't seen any popular usage of NLM (several apps were trying when I last looked) that can determine how much an individual appliance is costing really simply, i.e. the hairdryer cost $3.12 to run this month. That info could be really compelling and could spin out more ideas but doing this non-intrusive load monitoring sounds rather difficult with your data collection method.
fungi 14y ago
http://www.clipsal.com/ecomind http://www.clipsal.com/ecomind have to pay a sparky to clip the wireless monitor on. but if i'm going to be coughing up $250 for hardware, getting a sparky out for 30min is not my barrier to entry.
- ghshephard 14y ago
  Sparky? Is that slang for an electrician? Is there any reason you can't do it yourself?
  - fungi 14y ago
    yup, manual says "The installation must be carried out by a licensed electrical tradesperson." http://updates.clipsal.com/ClipsalOnline/Files/Brochures/W0001415.pdf http://updates.clipsal.com/ClipsalOnline/Files/Brochures/W00... and looking at my meter box... i'm to scared to touch that thing.

by jordn 14y ago

savrajsingh 14y ago

Thanks for the feedback, and yes, we're working on keeping users engaged. Most of the competitors you reference require you to go inside of your breaker box (require an electrician) to set up in the United States, among other shortcomings.

jordn 14y ago
Ah that explains what I perceived was a very over-engineered way of measuring the current. I've used several of the clip on readers myself in the UK - trivial install - and in fact several British electric providers have sent out their own current usage displays to customers. Then again I haven't seen any popular usage of NLM (several apps were trying when I last looked) that can determine how much an individual appliance is costing really simply, i.e. the hairdryer cost $3.12 to run this month. That info could be really compelling and could spin out more ideas but doing this non-intrusive load monitoring sounds rather difficult with your data collection method.

fungi 14y ago

http://www.clipsal.com/ecomind http://www.clipsal.com/ecomind have to pay a sparky to clip the wireless monitor on. but if i'm going to be coughing up $250 for hardware, getting a sparky out for 30min is not my barrier to entry.

ghshephard 14y ago
Sparky? Is that slang for an electrician? Is there any reason you can't do it yourself?
- fungi 14y ago
  yup, manual says "The installation must be carried out by a licensed electrical tradesperson." http://updates.clipsal.com/ClipsalOnline/Files/Brochures/W0001415.pdf http://updates.clipsal.com/ClipsalOnline/Files/Brochures/W00... and looking at my meter box... i'm to scared to touch that thing.