Cheap Onzo Energy meter - £8

[Slushbox]

In the wake of the 'Smart Meters' give you cancer/piles/dandruff scare, I found these on Ebay. It's the Onzo electricity monitor.

Onzo used to supply SSE and others but pulled their services a while ago. But if you just want a 'thing' to display your current (haha!) usage, these are excellent and very cheap.

Downsides: they come with corroded rechargable battery packs in the sensor (which clips over the red cable at the meter)

Three standard AAA batts go in the sensor, three standard AA's in the display. Set the display up with Kw costs, standing charge costs, and Estimated Annual Use and the display gives a running total of use, plus costs per week. Similar to the £40 Owl monitor.

£8 including postage.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ONZO-Smart-Energy-Elect...f:1&frcectupt=true

[BishBosh]

Thanks for that, I just bought one a little cheaper at £6.99 from the link you supplied there is a another link under from a different supplier showing it at a slightly cheaper price.
This will replace the owl one I have who now want a subscription....

[Slushbox]

BishBosh said:

Thanks for that, I just bought one a little cheaper at £6.99 from the link you supplied there is a another link under from a different supplier showing it at a slightly cheaper price.
This will replace the owl one I have who now want a subscription....

Jeez, I've been ripped off by £1.00. :-)

Seems Onzo dropped the thing a while ago, there's a forum here with details of how to get the data into a spreadsheet.

Also the developer says that the clip-on sensor has RAM and also stores the readings, which the display can retrieve and catch-up when needed if the batteries go flat. Says display can therefore be powered from intermittant PC or phone charger USB port. Haven't tried that.

My average usage is about 10KW/h a day, so bunged that estimate x 365 into the 'EAC' setting. Display then shows if you're above/below the target.

I put in the tariffs from my Octopus account and so far, the Onzo seems accurate. Tariffs/time and date are set from the grey buttons under the display rear cover. The blue button on the sensor and display pairs them to each other.

https://www.navitron.org.uk/forum/index.php?topic=...

Edited by Slushbox on Thursday 1st November 08:23

[ST_Nuts]

Also ordered the £6.99 one!

[Slushbox]

ST_Nuts said:

Also ordered the £6.99 one!

Cheapskate. :-)

[megaphone]

Thanks for that, I've bought one. I paid £6.99 as well.

Edited by megaphone on Thursday 1st November 08:47

[cptsideways]

I also could only find £6.99 down the sofa

[kev1974]

I dunno why you're all paying 6.99 when there's a seller got them for 6.39!

Thanks for the tip off, will give it a go (if the £6.39 people deliver!).

[Slushbox]

Just banned the household from making cups of tea, staying warm, and using the lights, to recoup my lost £1. :-)

The move to a less-juice houshold came a few months ago when my supplier jacked up the monthly D/D to £100 for gas and electric. I told them I used nowhere near that, which they ignored.

Switched supplier as a result. Now down to £60 a month. Did ditch the electric oven and ceramic hob for a gas cooker, and the six hundred watts of halogen spotlights in the lounge for LED spots.

Also revamped the home network stuff: NAS and ethernet switches on all the time, PC never turned off, 'Smart TV' and hifi plugged in permanently etc etc.

Background consumption now, with the gas boiler pump, fridge-freezer and a newish i5 desktop PC running plus a few LED room lights seems to be about 180-220 watts, the Onzo contraption says.

Wireless keyboard in room next to meter seems slightly intermittant after Onzo installed. Hmm.

Edited by Slushbox on Thursday 1st November 09:36

[croyde]

So you now properly turn off the pc and telly now.

A quick look around the house finds virtually every outlet with a charger plugged in.

Does a USB cable consume electricity with no phone attached?

Must get me one of these meters.

[Riley Blue]

We had a similar gizmo a few years ago, didn't make us change our energy use at all. It was just like our current smart meter, a total waste of energy to manufacture - ours was free

[Andeh13]

Thanks for the heads up, I've followed suit at £6.99!

[megaphone]

kev1974 said:

I dunno why you're all paying 6.99 when there's a seller got them for 6.39!

Thanks for the tip off, will give it a go (if the £6.39 people deliver!).

I did see the £6.39 sale but when I looked again I couldn't find it, bit annoyed as I've wasted 60p, will have to switch off my PC to try and recoup.

[Mr Pointy]

We could have bought 300 at £2.67 a piece & shared them around.

[Slushbox]

croyde said:

So you now properly turn off the pc and telly now.

A quick look around the house finds virtually every outlet with a charger plugged in.

Does a USB cable consume electricity with no phone attached?

Must get me one of these meters.

Highly scientific testing reveals that phone chargers with no phone connected do not produce a perceptible increase in watts on the gOnzo display. Fridge freezer on the other hand, 150 Gonzos, washing machine motor, 200 Gonzos, halogen desk light, 50 Gonzos, boiler pump and fan, 60 Gonzos, LED table lights, 20 Gonzos.

I've just saved you £6.39. :-)

Also, as foretold by the Interweb, the data appears to be stored in the sensor, taking the batteries out of the sensor zeros the display. All your Gonzos will disappear.

[RicksAlfas]

Slushbox said:

All your Gonzos will disappear.

[megaphone]

Mine just arrived.

[BishBosh]

Just setting mine up now. Had to open the sender unit battery and bin that, put 3 new alkaline AAA batteries in and seems to be working well.

I have battery storage and solar but this unit doesn't show when I go negative so thats not so good!!

Still nice to have another meter reading, charging the i3 at the moment and only drawing 90watts so PV is working well, nice and sunny in Northants...

[untakenname]

Just bought 5 for £20, will hand them out as presents next month.

Slushbox said:

Just banned the household from making cups of tea, staying warm, and using the lights, to recoup my lost £1. :-)

You jest but just like in the 80's when payg meters were introduced cases of domestic violence have increased inline with the uptake of smart electricity meters, mainly females getting hit for using hairdryers, ironing etc...

[ST_Nuts]

Mines arrived as well. The battery was corroded and I had to wedge a bit of foil in to hold one of the batteries in place but it seems to work fine. Nice having a real time wattage usage which updates immediately when you switch appliances on. Easy enough to set up and input unit and standard charge cost (mine came without instructions?).

Does anyone know what country code and EAC means??