User Manual Please read before using this equipment.
Table of Contents 1 Welcome........................................................................................................................................1 2 Your Powercost Monitor™..........................................................................................................2 2.1 Safety instructions............................................................................................................3 2.2 Care and maintenance ........................................................
1 Welcome Thank you for purchasing the PowerCost Monitor™ from Blue Line Innovations. The PowerCost Monitor™ can help you reduce your electricity bill. Our goal is to empower all households to reduce the amount of electricity they use without having to dramatically change their lifestyles.At Blueline Innovations Inc., we develop all our products and services with that goal in mind.
2 Your PowerCost Monitor™ Your PowerCost Monitor™ gives you the advantage of real-time feedback. Tests have proven that households where real-time feedback is put to good use can reduce their electricity needs by as much as 5 - 20%. Real-time feedback means being able to: • See how much energy your home is using from minute to minute. • See the effect of turning on or off various electrical devices in your home. It is important to remember that the PowerCost Monitor™ is just a tool.
2.1. Safety Instructions This device does not interfere with your utility meter readings in any way.After the PowerCost Monitor™ is installed, utility company personnel will still be able to access your readings normally. Please read, understand and apply the safety instructions below and read the rest of the User Manual thoroughly before using this product. These instructions must be followed at all times. • Do not attempt to repair the PowerCost Monitor™ yourself.
3 Determining Your Utility Meter Type Your utility meter is most probably located outside your house and it looks like one of the pictures on the following two pages. Your PowerCost Monitor™ Sensor Unit has been designed to fit on virtually any residential meter type, using its built-in clamping strap that goes over the meter dome. However, the installation procedure varies according to meter types.
Find the picture on the left side that looks like your meter. The picture next to it shows how your sensor should look when properly mounted. IF YOU DETERMINE THAT YOUR METER IS ONE OF THE TWO FOLLOWING TYPES, YOU CAN FOLLOW THE PROCEDURES IN THE QUICKSTART GUIDE TO INSTALL YOUR SENSOR UNIT. Your meter looks like this… … with the Sensor Unit mounted Electromechanical Meter Use Quick Install Guide or see section 5.2 Optical Port >1.
Your meter looks like this… Optical Port … with the Sensor Unit mounted Electronic Meter with FRONT optical port, LESS THAN 1.5 inches from outer rim of meter dome. You will need the rubber shims. See section 5.4 <1.5 inches <1.5 inches Optical Port Electronic Meter with FRONT optical port, LESS THAN 1.5 inches from outer rim of meter dome. You will need the rubber shims. See section 5.4 Optical Port Electronic Meter with TOP optical port. You will need the clear alignment template. See section 5.
4 Unpacking and Verifying Basic Operation Verify that your box contains all the following components: • Display Unit • Sensor Unit • Rubber Shims (2) • Clear Alignment Template (1) • Installation Guide, Setup Guide and User Manual • Alkaline “AA” Batteries (4) • Installation DVD After you unpack your PowerCost Monitor™, keep all the packing materials in a safe place. 4.1. Powering the Display Unit Proceed as follows to power the Display Unit: 1. Remove the Display Unit from the box. 2.
4.3.Verifying the Basic Operation Your Sensor Unit comes pre-programmed with a unique ID code so it will only work with your Display Unit. This synchronization step ensures that both the Display Unit and Sensor Unit operate properly using the same ID code. 1. Press and hold the SYNC button on the front of the Display Unit until you hear a beep (approx. 3 seconds). The Display Unit displays this screen: 2. Press and release the RESET button on the battery cover of the Sensor Unit.
5 Sensor Unit Installation 5.1.You Will Need… It is very important to follow the installation instructions for the PowerCost Monitor™ exactly as outlined in this User Guide for the type of meter installed in your home. Failure to do so will result in incorrect consumption data being displayed and may void the product warranty. For best results, install your Sensor Unit on a dry day.
5.2. Electromechanical Meter Electromechanical meters have dials on the face and a spinning disk with a black mark. The faster the disk spins, the higher your electricity consumption. 5.2.1. Preparing Your Sensor Unit Proceed as follows to prepare your Sensor Unit for mounting on your electromechanical meter. 1. Pull the Sensor Arm latch upward to open it. 2. Extend the Sensor Arm to its full length by pulling on it. If you accidentally pull it out completely, push it back into the casing. 3.
4. Make sure that the Sensor Arm is properly positioned with the disk on the utility meter. It should be positioned so that the alignment line on the Sensor Arm is inline with the disk and the sensor head is centered from side-to-side. NOTE: If the Sensor Arm is not properly positioned, the Sensor Unit may not detect the motion of the disk and will generate incorrect readings. 5. Press and release the RESET button on the battery cover of the Sensor Unit.
5.3. Electronic Meter (Optical Port on Face) Electronic meters have digital readouts, as well as an optical port which emits light pulses similar to the infrared light produced by a television remote control. This section deals with meters where the optical port is located on the face, more specifically, where the distance between the port and the outer rim of the meter dome is AT LEAST 1½ inches (37 mm). If in doubt, physically measure the distance between your port and the outer rim of the dome.
5.3.2. Installing Your Sensor Unit 1. Adjust the sensor mounting strap by turning the adjustment screw several turns with a flat head screwdriver until it is a little wider than the diameter of your meter dome. 2. Fit the Sensor Unit over your utility meter by sliding the clamp around the meter dome. Ensure that the Sensor Arm is as close to the front of the utility meter glass dome as possible. 3. Tighten the sensor-strap adjustment screw until snug.
5.4. Electronic Meter (Optical Port on Face – Shims Required) Electronic meters have digital readouts, as well as an optical port which emits light pulses similar to the infrared light produced by a television remote control. This section deals with electronic meters that have their optical port on the face, at a distance LESS THAN 1.5 inches (37 mm) from the outer rim of the meter dome. If in doubt, physically measure the distance between your port and the outer rim of the dome.
The supplied rubber shims are required to achieve proper installation. 4. Loosen the hose clamp and determine by eye if one or two shims will be required. 5. Remove the adhesive backing from one of the shims and press the shim in place onto the underside of the Sensor body. IMPORTANT: DO NOT stick the shim to the glass dome. 6. If required, remove the adhesive backing from the second shim and press the second shim onto the first. 5.4.2. Installing Your Sensor Unit 7.
5.5. Electronic Meter (Optical Port on Top) Electronic meters have digital readouts, as well as an optical port which emits light pulses similar to the infrared light produced by a television remote control. This section deals with electronic meters that have their optical port on the top. Optical Port These meters require that you reconfigure the Arm in the Sensor Unit. 5.5.1. Preparing Your Sensor Unit 1. Pull the Sensor Arm latch upward to open it. 2.
4. Push the smaller end of the Sensor Arm upwards through the latch opening. 5. Push the Sensor Head behind the strap, and as far down as it will go into the bottom cavity of the body. 6. Tuck the wire neatly into the side cavity. 7. Close the latch. 5.5.2. Installing Your Sensor Unit To help with the positioning of the Sensor Head exactly over the optical port, Blueline Innovations has supplied you with a clear plastic template that goes on top of the meter dome. 8.
12. Slide the Sensor Unit over the glass dome and align the edges of the Sensor Unit body with the white sidelines on the template. 13. Tighten the hose clamp so that the Sensor Unit is snug but can still move easily. 14. Push the Sensor Unit back on the glass dome as far as it will go. 15. Open the Sensor Arm latch and sight down the opening.You see a vertical plastic tab painted white on the inside of the Sensor body. 16. Align the white plastic tab with the white line on the template. 17.
5.6. Re-synchronizing your Display and Sensor Units NOTE: You normally only need to synchronize your Display and Sensor Units once. If you replace the batteries in your Display or Sensor Units, the system will start working normally again as soon as you insert fresh ones. 1. Press and hold the SYNC button on the front of the Display Unit until it beeps (approx. 3 seconds). The Display Unit goes into ID Mode and it begins to search for your Sensor Unit. 2.
6 Setting Up Your Display Unit Once the Sensor Unit begins to detect power usage from your utility meter, the Display Unit automatically starts showing information after a short time. The actual numbers displayed are immaterial at this point. 6.1. Determine your Type of Billing Before you start setting up your Display Unit, you must first determine the type of billing your electricity provider is applying to your account.
6.2. Display Unit Buttons and Icons The pictures below illustrate all the various icons and values that can be displayed at any given time on your Display Unit, as well as the locations of all the available buttons.
ICON/BUTTON PURPOSE Disk Emulator When spinning, indicates that the Display Unit is receiving a signal from the Sensor Unit. The higher the energy consumption, the faster the disk emulator spins. Consumption History Graphical representation of the power consumption over the last 7 days. See the User Manual for more detailed explanations Battery Levels Status of the Display Unit and Sensor Unit batteries.A black battery icon indicates a fresh battery.
ICON/BUTTON PURPOSE × Increase: During setup, each press of the button INCREASES the target value on the display by various increments. In some cases, if you Press-and Hold, the value is increased by a much larger increment; for example, the Kh increases by increments of 1.0 instead of 0.1. Ø Decrease: During setup, DECREASES the target value on the display by various increments.
6.3. Setting Up for SINGLE (FLAT) RATE Billing IMPORTANT: The instructions that follow assume that your Sensor Unit is transmitting signals normally to your Display Unit. Your Display Unit should show: 1. The Disk Emulator spinning. 2. The Signal Quality indicator showing a strong signal. Proceed as follows: 1. Press-and-Hold SET After 3 seconds, the Display Unit beeps and enters Configuration Mode. The HOURS digits of the clock are flashing. 2.
7. Press ×or Ø Set the correct day of the week. Select the correct Day-of-Week segment. 8. Press SET Your Day-of-Week segment is stored and the currently stored Kh value flashes. 9. Press OR Pressand-Hold ×or Ø Set your meter’s Kh Factor. Each button press increases or decreases the Kh value by 0.1. Press-and-hold to change the value by increments of 1.0. If you have an electromechanical meter, enter 7.2. If you have an electronic meter, enter 1.0. 10. Press SET Your Kh value is stored.
6.4. Setting Up for TIERED RATE Billing IMPORTANT: The instructions that follow assume that your Sensor Unit is transmitting signals normally to your Display Unit. Your Display Unit should show: 1. The Disk Emulator spinning. 2. The Signal Quality indicator showing a strong signal. Proceed as follows: 1. Press-and-Hold SET After 3 seconds, the Display Unit beeps and enters Configuration Mode. The HOURS digits of the clock are flashing. 2.
7. Press ×or Ø Set the correct day of the week. Select the correct Day-of-Week segment. 8. Press SET Your Day-of-Week segment is stored and the currently stored Kh value flashes. 9. Press OR PressSet your meter’s Kh Factor. and-Hold ×or Ø Each button press increases or decreases the Kh value by 0.1. Press-and-hold to change the value by increments of 1.0. If you have an electromechanical meter, enter 7.2. If you have an electronic meter, enter 1.0. 10. Press SET Your Kh value is stored.
14. Press SET Your Threshold value is set.“2” is displayed under RATE, and the currently stored value for the Rate 2 flashes next to the ¢/kWh segment. 15. Press ×or Ø Set your second electricity rate. This is generally the highest rate on your bill. Each press one of these buttons increases or decreases the displayed Rate value by 0.1. 16. Press SET Your second rate is stored. The THRESHOLD segment appears and the currently stored value for the second Threshold flashes. 17.
6.5. Setting Up for TIME-OF-USE Billing IMPORTANT: The instructions that follow assume that your Sensor Unit is transmitting signals normally to your Display Unit. Your Display Unit should show: 1. The Disk Emulator spinning. 2. The Signal Quality indicator showing a strong signal. Proceed as follows: 1. Press-and-Hold SET After 3 seconds, the Display Unit beeps and enters Configuration Mode. The HOURS digits of the clock are flashing. 2.
7. Press ×or Ø Set the correct day of the week. Select the correct Day-of-Week segment. 8. Press SET Your Day-of-Week segment is stored and the currently stored Kh value flashes. 9. Press OR Pressand-Hold ×or Ø Set your meter’s Kh Factor. Each button press increases or decreases the Kh value by 0.1. Press-and-hold to change the value by increments of 1.0. If you have an electromechanical meter, enter 7.2. If you have an electronic meter, enter 1.0. 10. Press SET Your Kh value is stored.
14. Press SET Your ON-PEAK RATE is stored. The currently stored ON-PEAK start time value appears and the HOURS digits of the clock flash. 15. Press×or Ø Set your ON-PEAK RATE Start Time- HOURS. Each button press increases or decreases the value by 1. 16. Press SET Your ON-PEAK Start Time HOURS value is stored. The MINUTES digits are flashing. 17. Press ×or Ø Set your ON-PEAK RATE Start Time - MINUTES. Each button press increases or decreases the value by 10. 18.
20. Press SET Your OFF-PEAK Start Time HOURS is stored. The MINUTES digits are flashing. 21. Press ×or Ø Set your OFF-PEAK RATE Start Time- MINUTES. Each button press increases or decreases the value by 10. 22. Press SET Your RATE, HOURS and MINUTES values, as well as the current day-of-week segments are stored. The SUN (Sunday) segment is flashing. 23. Set the days of the week that are subjected to the ON-PEAK rate.
7 Display Unit Functions 7.1.Your Display Unit When the Sensor Unit begins to detect power usage from your utility meter and the Display Unit receives the Sensor Unit signals correctly, the Signal Strength indicator indicates a good quality signal, the Disk Emulator starts spinning and real information appears on the screen after a short time. 7.1.1.
7.1.2. Total Consumption Row After a few minutes, the value in the third row (Totals Row), starts increasing and provides the total cost of electricity used. This row always shows the cumulative total of electricity consumed (either in $ or kW - see section 7.2) since the value was last reset. 7.1.3. Status Row The second row shows the current status of your PowerCost Monitor™ system.
7.2. Dollar & Cents Display Mode The first screen you will see once the PowerCost Monitor™ starts functioning is similar to the one below. Pressing the MODE button on the back of the Display Unit toggles the display between Kilowatt mode and Dollars & Cents mode. The top row shows how much electricity you are currently consuming in dollars and cents. In this example you are currently using $1.08/hour worth of electricity.
7.3. Kilowatt and Kilowatt-Hours Mode To enter the Kilowatt and Kilowatt-Hours screen, press and release the MODE button located on the back of the Display Unit.You will then see a screen similar to the one below (your actual values will vary). The top row now shows how much electricity you are currently consuming in kilowatts. In the example above, you are currently using 5.2 kW of electricity.
7.4. Temperature Display The PowerCost Monitor™ displays the temperature reading at the location of the Sensor Unit. The temperature can be displayed in either °C or °F, as shown in figure 6.5 below. To change the temperature reading between Celsius and Fahrenheit, press and release the - °C/°F button on the back of the Display Unit. NOTE: If your utility meter is located indoors, this function will NOT show outside temperature.
7.5. Loss of Signal Display In the event that your Display Unit loses the signal from the Sensor Unit you will see a screen similar to one of the two illustrations below, depending on the mode your Display Unit is currently operating in. For example, this may occur if you move the Display Unit to a location in your house that is too far from the Sensor Unit. Here are a few causes of loss of signal: • The Sensor Unit batteries are exhausted. • The Display Unit has been moved out of range of the Sensor Unit.
7.6. Resetting the Total Values Press-and-hold the CLEAR button located on the front of the Display Unit until you hear a beep to reset the Total values (Dollars and kW) that appear on the third row of the screen, as well as the peak values for the Consumption History Indicator. The current values do not change, as shown below. 7.7. Display Backlight Your PowerCost Monitor™ has a backlight that can be used to see the screen in dimly lit conditions.
8 Troubleshooting In the event that you are experiencing difficulty installing or using your PowerCost Monitor™ system, please refer to the information below to assist you in resolving the issue. If you do not see your problem listed here, or you are still unable to get your system working properly, more information is available at http://www.bluelineinnovations.com/pcm or you may send an email to support@bluelineinnovations.com describing the difficulty you are having.
& When I try to synchronize my Display and Sensor Units, the Display Unit keeps showing “id” on the screen. This indicates that the Display Unit is in ID mode, meaning that is is searching for your Sensor Unit. Press the RESET button on the Sensor Unit. If the Display Unit remains in ID mode, locate it within 10 feet (3m) of the Sensor Unit, and then press the RESET button again. & The Sensor Unit appears to have detected my meter properly, but I only see dashes (--) on my Display Unit.
& The temperature shown on the Display Unit does not match weather reports or appears to be incorrect. The temperature shown on the Display Unit is the ambient temperature at your utility meter; it may vary from other sources, such as TV weather reports, because of distance and other factors. Also, if your utility meter is exposed to direct sunlight during any part of the day, then the reading will be higher than normal. The reading will return to the correct value when the utility meter is shaded.
Warranty LIMITED ONE YEAR WARRANTY Blue Line Innovations warrants this product to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of sale to the original user or consumer purchaser.
Specifications Power Display Unit 2 AA Alkaline Batteries (LR6 or equivalent) Sensor Unit 2 AA Alkaline Batteries (LR6 or equivalent) Wireless Communications Frequency 433.92MHz Update Rate Approximately every 30 seconds Range Up to 30m (100ft.) line-of-sight (Subtract 5m or 15 feet for each wall between Display and Sensor Units) Operating Temperature Range 44 Display Unit 10˚C to 45˚C (50˚F to 113˚F) For indoor use only.
FCC Information FCC Class B Part 15 This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: 1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and 2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Warning: Changes or modifications not expressly approved by Blue Line Innovations Inc. void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
187 Kenmount Road St. John’s NL Canada A1B 3P9 www.bluelineinnovations.com Toll Free: (866) 607-2583 P/N: BLI-00193 Rev 2 © BlueLine Innovations Inc. PowerCost Monitor™ is a trademark of BlueLine Innovations Inc.
