Low Carbon Exeter Project
The Low Carbon Exeter Project encompasses various projects working towards a low carbon city, aiming to reduce consumption of energy from fossil fuels, increase energy efficency and promote renewable sources of energy. Projects cover business, the public sector and households.
Project: Smart Monitors in Schools
The project is funded by Exeter City Council's climate change levy on car parking, and run in partnership with Exeter City Council.
It aims to raise awareness of domestic energy consumption, through lending smart energy meters to school children.
70 monitors were purchased in winter 2008, and by autumn 2009 the project had visited 8 schools. Many households reduced their energy use by over 40%, with two making huge savings of over 70%, reducing their weekly energy bill by £22. One pupil said: After our experiment my mum and dad started turning everything off to save electricity. 60 more monitors have just been purchased.
More information is available in the Autumn 2009 Newsletter.
Our thanks to all of the staff, children and parents that have contributed to the project.
FAQs
Getting the monitor to work
See the accompanying documentation that came with the monitor.
Online help from the manufacturer, Current Cost.
Why is there no cost or electric usage on the display unit?
The most likely reason for there not being any reading is that there is not a connection between the transmitter and the display; it is unlikely to be due to a 'fault'. Please see the following solutions.
Two things to check are:
- Are the clamps from the transmitter attached to the correct cables?
If not then arrange the correctly as in the diagrams in the documentation and accompanying booklet. - Is there a '1' with a 'signal' symbol in the top left corner of the display?
If not then the transmitter and the display need to be reassociated to each other. This is done by depressing the down arrow for a few seconds (count to 5) and releasing. you should see the blue led flash briefly and then the signal bars concertina on the display. If there is no association then reset the transmitter at the same time by using a pen or pencil to depress the recessed button through the hole in the top of the transmitter box.
If both the display and the clamps are correct, and turning the display on and off hasn't solved the problem, then the monitor may be faulty. Replacements are possible.
More things to note
If a cost more reflecting of the tariff is required both the normal and low/night rate need to be set.
Make sure that the clock is set correctly as this will affect the bar graph readings and the eventual analysis.
The time may need resetting if the display is turned off; the display does not keep time when off.
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