Non-Invasive Power Monitor

matthuisman.nz

For those interested in paying for a product that does something like this, there is https://sense.com/ for residential or http://verdigris.co/ for commercial/industrial applications.

Your meter may already have a Zigbee interface built into it. Check with your utility company.

As the pedant will note, neither Newton nor Heisenberg actually allow "non-invasive" power monitors. Your current sense transformer will draw some minute amount of power :-)

Separately, you might be able to use a second transformer clamp to trickle charge a supercap and not need batteries at all?

> As the pedant will note, neither Newton nor Heisenberg actually allow "non-invasive" power monitors.

Assuming one is not using superconducting power cables, the wire should heat up due to resistive heating, and the rate of heating should depend on the current.

Couldn't we non-intrusively monitor this heating via IR, and from this infer the power usage?

Resistive losses in a wire are pretty low, unless the wire is too small. Then the wire melts.

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