USER GUIDE COVER PAGE
Table of Contents Welcome ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Safety Instructions ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Care and Maintenance......................................................................................
Welcome Thank you for purchasing the PowerCost Monitor™ AMI™ for Elster EnergyAxis™ from Blue Line Innovations. Your PowerCost Monitor AMI 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% to 20%. Learning how to use all the functions of your PowerCost Monitor AMI will help you reduce your electricity bill considerably.
HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL This manual contains important safety and care information, and provides step-by-step instructions for using this product. Please read this manual thoroughly, and keep it in a safe place in case you need to refer to it later. This manual is designed as a reference and it contains all the information you require for the ongoing use of your PowerCost Monitor AMI.
1 - Unpacking and Installing Your PowerCost Monitor AMI Verify that your box contains all the following components: • • • • • • Display Unit 6 AA Alkaline batteries AC Power Adaptor Outdoor Temperature Sensor Configuration Module (installed in the Display) User Guide After you unpack your PowerCost Monitor™, keep all the packing materials in a safe place.
2 – Starting Your PowerCost Monitor AMI the First Time Before proceeding with the instructions below, retrieve a recent electricity bill and find out whether you are being changed on a Time of Use or Tiered rates basis. If you are not familiar with electricity billing modes, read Appendix A for complete explanations. When you power up your unit for the first time (and each time you use the factory reset function), your Display goes through the following sequence. 1. 2. 3.
3 - Your Display Basics This section gives a brief overview of all the information that is displayed on your LCD. Section 5 gives detailed examples of real life situations with more in depth explanations. As soon as you power up your PowerCost Monitor AMI, the following start-up screen is displayed: ILLUSTRATION – Start-up Screen Once your Display begins to receive power usage signals from your electricity meter, it automatically starts showing information after a short time.
The table below explains the function of each button: Current Button Label Description The Display is in Dollar mode, meaning that all the values displayed in currency units. Pressing the button changes the label to The Display is in Kilowatt Mode, meaning that all the values displayed are energy units (kilowatts and kilowatt-hours). Pressing the button changes the label to The Display is in NOW mode: all the values displayed are for the current billing period.
10 - Consumption Ratio Indicator The Consumption Rate Indicator (CRI) displays your electricity consumption in three columns as percentages of least ($), more ($$) and most ($$$) expensive rates. If you have more than 3 different rates, the most expensive rates are combined under the red indicator bar labelled “$$$”. These bars are touch-sensitive areas. If you touch a bar, the corresponding KW and $ value are displayed momentarily in the Text Area.
4 - Configuration Mode – How To Program Your Display Ideally, your electricity supplier’s network would provide your meter with all the required data. However, this is not always the case. For the purposes of this section, we are assuming that your Display is receiving only electricity consumption information from your meter. This section explains how to configure all the data elements that are required by your Display to be able to show meaningful results.
Setting the Display Clock: The TIME/DATE? Submenu Press YES when the TIME/DATE? main menu option is displayed. The first option of the TIME/DATE? submenu then appears in the Text Area. The TIME/DATE? submenu covers all the parameters that are used to set the Display internal clock. The following table shows the menu item list in the correct order with the result when you select each item.
SETTING THE CURRENT DAY OF THE WEEK NOTE: If the displayed day of the week is already correct then the display is receiving it from the meter and you do not need to set it. 1. Navigate to the DAY OF WEEK? submenu item and press YES. 2. The current or default day of week segment is flashing. ILLUSTRATION – DOW segment flashing 3. Press or to cycle through all the segments and select the segment that corresponds to the current day of the week. 4. Press YES to save the currently selected day of the week. 5.
Setting Your Rates – The ENERGY RATES? Submenu Press YES when the ENERGY RATES? main menu option is displayed. The first option of the ENERGY RATES? submenu then appears in the Text Area. The ENERGY RATES? submenu covers the parameters required for setting the rates you are being charged. Your PowerCost Monitor AMI calculates the values it displays based on the entries in this submenu.
2. Enter your lowest rate by pressing the digits on the keypad, including the decimal point. The digits you press appear successively in the Demand field in the Speedo The range of acceptable values is 0.01 to 99.99. 3. Press YES to store your lowest rate. The Tier Indicator now displays the label associated with your second lowest rate, and the Current Demand field flashes the current or default value of the second lowest rate. 4.
Setting Your Viewing Preferences – The PREFERENCES? Submenu Press YES when the PREFERENCES? main menu option is displayed. The first option of the PREFERENCES? submenu then appears in the Text Area. The PREFERENCES? submenu covers parameters that you can set for your viewing convenience. The following table shows the menu item list in the correct order with the result when you select each item.
Setting the Display’s Operational Parameters – The IHD SETTINGS? Submenu NOTE: The IHD SETTINGS? submenu covers the operational parameters for your PowerCost Monitor AMI. These are all settings that you should seldom change, if ever. Press YES when the IHD SETTINGS? main menu option is displayed. The first option of the IHD SETTINGS? submenu then appears in the Text Area. The following table shows the menu item list in the correct order with the result when you select each item.
5- Using Your Display Using the Various Display Modes Your Display provides you with four ways of viewing your consumption data, accessible by pressing the four touch-sensitive buttons in the Display Mode area at the bottom left of your LCD screen, immediately above the Text Area.
ILLUSTRATION – Energy Units – PREV - ACT The SPEEDO In normal mode, the SPEEDO offers all the display modes and displays all the values discussed in the section entitled Your Display Basics. The Consumption Ratio Indicator The Consumption Ratio Indicator (CRI) displays your electricity consumption in three columns as percentages of least ($), more ($$) and most ($$$) expensive power. If you have more than 3 different rates, the most expensive rates are combined under the red indicator bar labelled “$$$”.
Appendix A – How to Determine your Rates IMPORTANT: If you are still not able to determine your electricity rates after reading this section, please contact your electricity supplier directly for detailed information on your account. What Am I Looking For? In the past, utility companies charged a single rate for electricity, regardless of the quantity of electrical power (measured in kilowatt-hours – kWh) a household consumed. Some utilities still follow that Single (or Flat) Rate billing model.
EXAMPLE: ➢ OFF PEAK 342 kWh @ $0.063/kWh ➢ MID PEAK* 399 kWh @ $0.069/kWh ➢ ON PEAK** 988 kWh @ $0.075 /kWh MID/ON PEAK applies Mon to Fri. * MID PEAK Periods: 9:30 AM to 4:20 PM and 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM ** ON PEAK Periods: 6:10 AM to 9:30 AM and 4:20 PM to 7:00 PM The information from this example is illustrated in the table below, indicating that from Monday through Friday only, you pay: 1) 7.5 ¢/kWh from 6:10 AM to 9:30 AM; 2) 6.9 ¢/kWh from 9:30 AM to 4:20 PM; 3) 7.
APPENDIX B - 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 or you may send an email to support@bluelineinnovations.com describing the difficulty you are having.
APPENDIX C – Configuration Menu Tree
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 4 AA Alkaline Batteries (LR6 or equivalent) Temperature Sensor 2 AA Alkaline Batteries (LR6 or equivalent) Wireless Communications Frequency 900 MHz between meter and Display 433.92 MHz between Temperature Sensor and Display Update Rate Approximately every 30 minutes Range Up to 30m (100ft.) line-of-sight (Subtract 5m or 15 feet for each wall between Display and meter) Operating Temperature Range Display 10°C to 45°C (50°F to 113°F) For indoor use only.
Caution: To maintain compliance with the FCC’s RF exposure guidelines, place the unit at least 20cm from nearby persons.
187 Kenmount Road St. John’s NL Canada A1B 3P9 www.bluelineinnovations.
