TED 5000-G - The Energy Detective

by TED - The Energy Detective

Product Description

Smart Meters" are designed primarily for the electric utility industry so they can better manage the supply-and-demand of electricity. TED is designed specifically for the consumer, so that one can better manage the use and costs of electricity. TED puts YOU in charge. The next generation in home energy monitoring, the TED 5000 Series provides all the benefits of the TED 1000 series along with a new look and improved functionality. The brand new Gateway component, the TED 5000 system provides all the information any energy-conscious homeowner can dream of with added accessibility and feedback! TED Gateway The Heart of TED 5000 is the Gateway, the newest component to the TED monitoring system, and the driving force behind the TED 5000. The Gateway provides the TED system with added functionality and data accessibility to make home energy management easier than ever! With the TED 5000, the Gateway receives and stores your energy data internally. The Gateway stores 60 minutes of Second-data, 2 days of Minute-data, 90 days of Hourly-data, 24 months of Daily-data, and 10 years of Monthly-data. Your real-time and historical data can be viewed on your computer by utilizing the Gateway's Ethernet jack, IP chip, and embedded TED Footprints software (Windows, Mac, and Linux compatible). Additionally, when you connect the Gateway to your wireless router, you can access your data from any computer or mobile device with Internet access. TED 5000-G Includes: Gateway + 1-MTU/CTs Works with: -- Homes with Single Electrical Panels -- Homes with Single Electrical Panels and Solar/wind installations (will only record the net of generation/production. The model TED 5000G comes with all the components necessary to monitor energy usage. In addition, you can still use your computer or mobile device to track your energy data. The Footprints firmware is embedded in the Gateway and works with Google PowerMeter.

Product Details

• Item Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B003EM240U
• Item model number: 5000-G
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,597 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great thought, implementation and documentation need work, December 28, 2010

By 

Kidd "j-madd" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TED 5000-G - The Energy Detective (Electronics)

I'm an engineer who works with electrical components with work so I can't complain about general installation. If you don't understand or it seems tough, get a qualified electrician. Better that than burning your house down or electrocuting yourself.

I was an advocate for this until I noticed loads in my home starting and stopping with no reaction from the 'real time KW usage' display. A closer review of my logs revealed blackout periods in the graph where my KW locked in at a very low level. I found I can turn this on or off, ironically by switching on any of the overhead LED bulbs I purchased to save electricity. Based on this, I have to conclude the MTU / gateway communication is susceptible to noise.

This requires fixing whether it be a more robust communication solution, offer a filtration solution or at the very least tell the users they need to park the gateway close to the MTU. A better product management / engineering course of action would have been to work these issues out before marketing TED as a consumer product. Regrettable, but I'll try relocating the gateway and cross my fingers.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great idea; can take work to make it work for you, March 2, 2011

By 

R. Tupelo Schneck - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: TED 5000-G - The Energy Detective (Electronics)

I'm a big fan of the TED 5000, got it quite early on and wrote the "it's electric" application for displaying its data nicely on a web page. TED 5000 works well, but you may need to be persistent in order to get it working for you. Installation is not hard (I found it hard to get the CTs to close properly over the giant wires inside my electric box, but nothing terrible), but you are quite likely not to be done when you install. The problem is that the MTUs in your circuit breaker box talk to your Gateway plugged in somewhere in your house over the power line. Neat idea (seems almost magical really) but it causes more problems than it's worth.

For if there's any source of noise... such as a couple of compact fluorescent lights... your Gateway may not get the signal. This is very frustrating. In the end, I had to run an Ethernet cable all the way across my house in order to reach the distant circuit where the Gateway actually reliably got signals from both breaker boxes. AND I had an electrician run a wire BETWEEN the breaker boxes so both MTUs plugged into the same circuit. I was very close to getting said electrician back to put a single outlet on the same circuit and plug the Gateway in there. Presumably, that would have eliminated all noise. As you can see, you need to be prepared to spend considerable time on your TED 5000 project. If only they had just used wifi to communicate!

But maybe the price point would have changed. Another reviewer said TED 5000 is the best of its kind it this price range, and I suspect that's true.

Don't waste money on the display, if you're the kind of person who regularly looks at a computer (or iPhone, etc.) anyway. It's not good enough to be worth much extra money in my opinion.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works as Advertised - Easy Setup, May 23, 2011

By 

Westport "RN" (ct, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: TED 5000-G - The Energy Detective (Electronics)

I bought this device so I could lower my insanely high electric bill. I use about 3000 KwH per month, which is more than twice what I should be using.

I installed the TED-5000-G myself this past weekend. Within 45 minutes I was monitoring my electricity in real-time on the Ted Footprint software. The device works exactly as advertised.
I was also able to install the free companion Iphone App and instantly monitor my real-time usage on my Iphone. On top of that, I also took advantage of the option to automatically upload usage data to Google Power Meter so I can monitor my usage from anywhere. Very cool.

The 5000-G kit comes with two components: An MTU which is a meter that gets installed on your circuit panel, and a Gateway that gets plugged into an ordinary outlet and is attached to your network. The MTU transmits data to the Gateway. The gateway stores the data and is what is accessed over your network to monitor usage.

I am not an electrician, but was still able to install it myself. I watched the installation video on the TheEnergyDetective.Com about 5 times before I read the instructions. I highly recommended watching the video. Here is the installation video link:. Surprisingly, my installation went about as smoothly as the one on the video. That never happens! When I ordered the kit I also purchased a filter from Ted for $5 bucks. I have two battery backup devices at my house that I read could cause interference. I did not need to use the filter though. The one snafu I almost ran into was after I pulled off the circuit panel cover and thought that I was out of unused circuits on my circuit panel. It took me a while to figure out that there were two unused split circuit breakers. Plugging the wires into the circuit breakers was a little harder than the video implied, but I managed. I installed the MTU outside of the circuit panel so I could see the MTU status light after I put the panel cover back on.

Once the MTU was in I was home free. I plugged the gateway into the wall upstairs and connected it to a Linksys network switch. I was worried that it needed to go directly into the router, but it worked just fine with the switch in between. After I entered the MTU id into the Ted software I installed on my PC, it found the device immediately and I was on my way.

I paid full retail price ($199.99) plus like $20 bucks for shipping from Ted. I am not sure I would order it directly from them if I had to do it all over again. My shipment got delayed because they were moving offices. There are a few websites that offer the same price with free shipping. I would go that route. I am glad I went without the wireless monitoring accessory. The iPhone app does the same exact thing.

Now the bad news. My steam shower is 9000 watts!!! Holy cow!! Thats about $1 per use. That adds up! My dehumidifier is costing me $50 bucks per month! Also, my wife finds it terribly annoying when I call her from work to ask what she just turned on. ...and this is only 3 days in!

I recommend this device. It will most likely pay for itself just by reminding you of your energy usage, plus its kind of fun.