Loop Energy Saver Electricity Monitor with Built in Tariff Tracker

I've just installed my Loop. I'm giving it 4 stars for now because I won't see the full dashboard info for a few days/weeks. If that is useful I'll up it to 5. Installation was easy.Here's a bit more info about the process. You'll need a PC or a tablet to run the installation wizard on the Loop web site. Once this is done you can use the Loop app.You get 3 bits of kit: a transmitter that fits around the electric meter cable, a receiver that plugs into an Ethernet socket on your router/hub and a USB (mains) power supply that powers the receiver.The receiver can be up to 30 metres from the transmitter. So your router needs to be within 30 metres with a spare Ethernet socket and a spare mains socket nearby.The receiver also has a spare Ethernet socket for connecting direct to a laptop (for example).The installation wizard on the Loop web site asks for an authorisation code from the Loop box, a code from the receiver and a code from the transmitter. It tells you if things are working as you progress. Finally you press a reset button on the transmitter, clip it round your cable (the wizard tells you where) and you're done.(The Loop site then sets up your personal data, username, password, etc. It also asks for your tariff to identify your unit costs.)I'm describing this because you may expect it to work differently and you may not have devices and sockets where you need them.It's not as complicated as it sounds - I was connected about 5 minutes after opening the box.When you open the app or your Loop summary page it takes about 25 seconds to get the data then shows how many kW you are using. As I say, there are many further charts and outputs when you have been connected for long enough and I'll rate those later.After one month it can also use the data to find competing tariffs from other suppliers through uSwitch. This promises to simplify tariff comparisons although you may want to use more than one month to get a representative picture of your usage.Lastly, for now, the Loop site also keeps some basic gas info in your profile (if you enter it). It can't do anything with this right now apart from copying it into the comparison function (after one month), but Loop hope to release a Gas Loop add-on late this year.Edit: Here are my comments about using the Loop as promised...I'll leave my overall rating at 4 stars. Although the data is useful there are a few niggles with day to day use.You get a consistent reading in kWh and useful comparison charts (today against previous days, against users with a similar profile, etc.) in £ and kWh.My reservations are:- When you click on the confirmation email you seem to need to be already logged in. My original email link didn't work, so I logged in and resent the email. This time it worked.- As I was using the Loop web site I assumed my first confirmation had worked. It was only when I investigated the missing info from my profile that I found it hadn't.- Using a browser you get logged out for inactivity and have to enter your username and password every time. There's no "remember me". This is not much fun.- Using the app you get "logged out" for inactivity but the notification screen has your username and password pre-entered, so you just hit submit and it starts up. A bit pointless.- You get a lot of messages saying "you used less than yesterday" or "more than yesterday". My days are not uniform. I expect them to vary so this isn't helpful.- You get praised or criticised for using less or more energy but being out for the day (less) or using the washing machine (more) isn't always a matter of choice.- Finally, there is at least a 30 second wait for a reading after you log in.So I find it useful and it does the job I expected but the day to day experience could be better.

For context - I have had 2 other energy monitors Owl and Eco Eye.There is some good design in this monitor.I can't believe they don't use this as a sales pitch - but it is the only monitor I know of which does not require batteries on the transmitter (the bit that connects around the wire near your meter) - it has its own rechargeable battery which I assume recharges inductively. This means you are not regularly going to your meter to replace batteries (or in most cases after a few months not bothering hence no longer using the monitor).The other end (receiver) plugs into your router (home network). Another good design choice is that it handily can be daisy chained with any existing network devices (so if you have used up all your network sockets on the router, you plug the receiver into the router, and what you had to unplug into the receiver).Set up is very very straight forward, and suitable for non IT literate people. So long as you know you have a broadband router and where it is. The web browser setup guide takes you though it step by step (took less than 10mins).It is web based, the phone apps are just interfaces to web pages. If you have tablet, it is better to use the web browser on it for full functionality. Access to your data is protected by a password.Web based means that it is more hassle to view the current usage (there is no LCD display), but the web interface updates around every 2-3 seconds which is usually good enough. The advantage is that they can process your data for you and display some pretty graphs. The downside is that graphs are a little limited but I consider good enough (but I'd like to see more). You see your usage over a day, week, month, and you can compare with previous days/weeks/months. Results can be expressed in kW/kWh as well as £ (money). It is clearly an evolving site.I'd like to see an option to download your data so you can do more with it (you can't do this presently), but the reality I probably would do this very often.Comparison to Eco Eye (I no longer have a my Owl energy monitor) suggests that maybe this slightly over reads at low values. The difference was about 0.1 kW (100Watts) at 0.3kW. However I don't think the Eco Eye is particularly accurate at this level either (nor was the Owl). Bottom line is that this monitor is no better than any others for measuring very low usage. Above 0.7kW (700Watts) the monitors read the same.But if you are energy concious what you really need is to see trends - and this monitor is great for this. The graphs make it easy to identify peak usage over time and correlate this to habits, all with little effort. There is lots to keep you engaged for longer than for other types of monitors (for example an weekly email can be sent to indicate your usage).A downside is that it is subscription based the subscription a reasonable £5 a year (first year covered by the £30 initial cost of purchase). I consider £5 a year worth it for the service they are providing.

This really is a must have tool for everyone who uses electricity. I've had Loop running for 2 days now and from what I've learnt it will have paid for itself within 10 days.Unfortunately installation didn't go as smoothly as it should, as Loop didn't like my old Belkin router. However, I can't fault the service I've received as they quickly resolved the problem and sent me a new Loop with upgraded firmware. The new version connected first time. I should say that installation is child's play, as all you have to do is plug the receiver into your router and mains socket and then clip the transmitter around any one of the four cables coming out of your meter. That's it, done. Loop will then start to monitor your usage and tell you what you have spent since installation. I tried switching devices on and off to see the effect and after a number of seconds (it's not instant) I could see my usage going up and down in line with what I was doing.So, how is it going to pay for itself within 10 days? Well, if you are like me then you might not be totally aware of when all your electrical gizmos are switching themselves on and off. This morning, to my surprise, Loop informed me I was consuming more electricity when I was asleep than when awake! Confused, I realised later the only thing it could be was my underfloor heating. Needless to say, I've now changed the settings so that it should not come on, thereby saving myself about £3 a night. I dread to think how much this has cost me and the worst thing is I didn't even know. However, now I've got Loop I shouldn't be caught out again.For £30 this has got to be one of the best purchases I've made. If you bought one I don't think you'd regret it and if you don't save £30 in the first year they'll give you your money back. You can't get much fairer than that.