Every now and then we take a look under the hood of Iris and see what little gems of information may be hiding underneath. A favorite spot to look for clues is the section where device icons can be found. We took a look there today and weren’t disappointed when we found an icon for a device labeled “homenergymonitor”. After studying the icon we didn’t have to look too far to find a match in the Aeon Labs DSB09104-ZWUS Home Energy Monitor.
Given that we have written about the lack of availability of the Blue Line Meter Reader in the past, we were especially excited at the prospect of an alternative product coming to Iris.
Possible Aeon Labs home energy monitor icon found in the Iris mobile app bundle.
While compatibility is universal, clamp-on meters such as these are notoriously difficult to install and may require a visit from an electrician since the probes would have to be installed on the main feeders coming into the building. Another drawback over the Blue Line reader is accuracy; the Blue Line reader actually measures the pulses given off by your electric meter which means the actual usage should match the utility bill. By contrast, clamp-on metering is usually only accurate to within 10%, but with a cost roughly a third of the Blue Line Meter Reader, the trade-off in accuracy will undoubetdly outweigh the price for many.
I have this left over from my Vera Lite system and would LOVE to have it work with IRIS.
So, you have tried to pair this with IRIS and it wouldn’t work? I am very interested in using one of these with iris as well.
So I have been working with Iris Support on this for a while as I have one of these monitors. They said it is a bit tricky to pair but should work. I have yet to get mine to work. I have talked with Aeon Labs and had the firmware updated to see if that helps. I might purchase a separate solution to monitor my power usage if all else fails. The Other power monitors do not work for meters in my area. So this would be the best way to get the job done.