Setting up an Owl Energy Monitor is a straightforward process that allows you to start monitoring your home’s energy usage and potentially lower your electricity bills. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through the step-by-step process of installing your Owl monitor, connecting it to your home’s electrical panel, and setting up the accompanying app.
What is the Owl Energy Monitor?
The Owl Energy Monitor is a wireless electricity monitoring system that connects to your home’s electrical panel and wirelessly transmits real-time data on your electricity use to a smartphone app. It provides detailed insights into how much electricity you are using in your home and can help identify ways to reduce wasted energy and lower your electricity bills.
Some key features and benefits of the Owl Energy Monitor include:
- Wireless connectivity – The Owl monitor wirelessly transmits electricity data from your electrical panel to the app on your smartphone or tablet via WiFi.
- Real-time monitoring – View up-to-the-second data on your overall electricity use as well as the use of individual circuits.
- Historical data tracking – The accompanying app stores data on your usage over time so you can identify trends and patterns.
- Custom notifications – Set up alerts to notify you when certain circuits exceed set thresholds or your overall home usage spikes.
- Money saving insights – Pinpoint the biggest energy drains in your home and get recommendations to reduce wasted energy.
- Simple setup – The Owl monitor can be installed without rewiring your electrical panel in many cases.
With these features, the Owl Energy Monitor provides the visibility you need to understand your home energy use, save money on your electricity bills, and reduce your environmental impact.
What’s Included with the Owl Energy Monitor
The core Owl Energy Monitoring System includes the following components:
- Owl Monitor – This is the main device that gets connected to your home’s electrical panel to transmit energy data. It is battery powered and wireless.
- Owl App – The smartphone app (available for iOS and Android) receives and displays the energy data transmitted from the monitor. It also stores historical data and allows you to set notifications and customize settings.
- Current transformers (CTs) – These clip onto the wires in your electrical panel and detect electricity flowing through the wires. The CTs connect to the Owl Monitor.
- Panel extender – This provides space to mount the CTs and Owl Monitor in your electrical panel.
- Zip ties and mounting tape – To securely mount the hardware inside your electrical panel.
In addition to these core components, Owl offers some optional accessories:
- Additional CTs – To monitor more circuits.
- Outdoor weatherproof housing – For mounting the Owl Monitor outside your home if WiFi range is an issue.
- Repeater – To extend the wireless range between the Owl Monitor and your WiFi router.
How Does the Owl Energy Monitor Work?
Here is a simplified overview of how the Owl system works:
- The current transformers (CTs) clip around the hot wires of the electrical circuits you want to monitor inside your home’s electrical panel.
- The CTs detect the electrical current flowing through the wires and transmit this data to the Owl Monitor also mounted inside the panel.
- The Owl Monitor wirelessly sends the current data along with voltage data to the Owl app on your smartphone or tablet via your WiFi network.
- The app receives the data and displays real-time energy use information and historical data, allowing you to track and analyze your home’s electricity consumption.
By leveraging wireless technology and CT sensors, the Owl system provides whole home energy monitoring without the need to do any rewiring or electrical work inside your panel.
Key Steps to Install the Owl Energy Monitor
Now that you understand the basics of how the Owl Energy Monitor works, let’s go through the step-by-step process for a typical installation:
1. Turn Off Main Circuit Breaker
Before doing any work inside your home’s electrical panel, you need to shut off the main circuit breaker that controls all the power to your home. This ensures there is no dangerous live current flowing while you are installing the monitoring equipment. Use a contact voltage tester to double check the power is off.
2. Remove Panel Cover
With the main breaker off, you can safely remove the cover of your electrical panel to expose the internal components.
3. Identify Circuits to Monitor
Decide which electrical circuits you want the Owl system to monitor. The breakers will be labeled with the associated rooms or appliances. You can start with high consumption circuits like HVAC, water heater, and laundry. Owl CTs can clip around multiple smaller breakers to consolidate monitoring if needed.
4. Mount the Panel Extender
Attach the panel extender securely to the interior of your electrical panel to create the necessary space to mount the Owl Monitor and CTs.
5. Attach the CT Sensors
Clip the CT sensors around the hot wire of each circuit breaker you want to monitor. Make sure the arrow on the CT is pointing toward the breaker panel interior. The CT leads then plug into the ports on the Owl Monitor to transmit the current data.
6. Mount the Owl Monitor
Mount the Owl Monitor securely to the panel extender using the provided fasteners. Choose a location that will optimize the wireless signal strength.
7. Connect and Switch On Owl Monitor
Connect the plug end of the CT sensors to the ports on the back of the Owl Monitor. Then switch on the Owl Monitor using the power button – the LEDs will light up when it is powered on. If you encounter any issues with the device powering on, contact Owl support.
8. Re-Energize Electrical Panel
With all of the monitoring hardware installed, you can put the cover back on your electrical panel and switch the main breaker back on to restore power to your home.
9. Create Account and Connect Owl
In the Owl smartphone app, create a new user account. Then follow the in-app instructions to connect your Owl Monitor and begin receiving energy data from it. You will need your home’s WiFi password to connect the Owl Monitor.
10. Configure Devices and Alerts
In the app, name and label each of the electrical circuits you are monitoring. You can then set up custom alerts – for example, to notify you if your HVAC circuit exceeds a certain power threshold. Take time to review and understand all of the data and customization options.
That covers the key steps to getting your Owl Energy Monitor set up and ready to start tracking your home energy usage! Continue reading for more guidance on choosing electrical panel mounting locations, troubleshooting issues, and using the Owl app.
Tips for Mounting the Owl Monitor
Properly positioning the Owl Energy Monitor in your electrical panel can help optimize the wireless signal and ensure accurate monitoring. Here are some tips:
- Mount near the top of the panel if possible to avoid obstructions.
- Aim the front side with the Owl logo towards the nearest interior wall to point the wireless antenna in the optimal direction.
- Make sure the location aligns with your WiFi router’s position in your home to maximize signal strength.
- Keep away from large electrical appliances, wires, and metal pipes that could interfere with wireless signals.
- If needed, use the optional external weatherproof housing to relocate the Owl Monitor outside your home.
Try to position the Owl Monitor in your panel’s upper left or right corner with the front facing your interior wall. Use the app’s signal strength indicator to validate your mounting location is optimal.
Troubleshooting Tips
In most cases, following the steps outlined above will allow you to get your Owl Energy Monitor set up without issues. However, here are some troubleshooting tips for common problems:
Owl Monitor Won’t Power On
If your Owl Monitor does not power on when you flip the switch, try the following:
- Make sure the battery pull tab is fully removed.
- Check that the battery connectors are properly seated.
- Try removing and reinserting the batteries while the device is off.
- If the problem persists, contact Owl support for a replacement unit.
No Data Appearing in App
If the app displays no data or fails to find the Owl Monitor, try these steps:
- Make sure your WiFi router is operating correctly and your phone is connected to WiFi.
- Reopen the app and restart the setup process.
- Toggle airplane mode on/off on your phone to refresh the WiFi connection.
- Relocate the Owl Monitor or use a repeater to improve WiFi signal strength.
- As a last resort, delete and reinstall the Owl app.
Incorrect or Inconsistent Readings
If you notice the energy data looks suspiciously high, low, or inconsistent, it likely indicates an issue with the CT sensor placement:
- Make sure the CT arrows are pointed toward the panel interior.
- Confirm the CTs are securely clipped around the hot wire and not obstructed.
- Check for any loose CT wire connections to the Owl Monitor.
- Try moving the CTs to different breaker locations.
Carefully inspecting the CT installations often reveals the cause of incorrect readings. Review the troubleshooting guidance in the Owl app for additional help.
Using the Owl App
The Owl Energy Monitor app provides you with real-time data and insights into your home energy use once the system is set up. Here are some of the key features and functions of the app:
- Overview dashboard – See your current energy usage, daily/monthly trends, usage breakdown by circuit, and estimated billing info.
- Circuit-level monitoring – Check real-time and historical data for each circuit the CTs are attached to.
- Notifications and alerts – Set up push notifications when energy thresholds are exceeded or anomalies are detected.
- Owl Rating – The app assigns an energy efficiency score based on your usage data and patterns.
- Recommendations – Provides custom tips for improving your score and lowering energy waste based on your data.
- Smart scheduling – Use historical data to schedule circuit on/off times when energy is cheaper or renewable sources are available.
- Events and insights – Analyzes data to detect high usage events and provides reporting to highlight trends.
- 3rd party integrations – Connects with smart home platforms like Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings for voice control.
Take time to fully explore all of the app’s options. The more data you provide and engage with the recommendations, the more insights the app can provide to help reduce your home’s energy footprint and costs.
Conclusion
Installing an Owl Energy Monitor provides real-time transparency into your electricity use and easy access to usage data. Following the steps in this guide will help you get set up quickly. Within about an hour, you can have the system fully installed and be monitoring your home’s energy usage from your smartphone. Take advantage of all of the app’s capabilities to identify wasted energy and ways to optimize your home’s energy efficiency.