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What does eco-eye do? |
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Eco-eye measures the amount of electricity a household is consuming in real time and provides the user with a constant display of actual usage and cost. The display acts as a prompt to be less wasteful and more energy efficient. Eco-eye has a memory facility so you can recall usage from previous weeks to compare your consumption over various periods of time. Eco-eye is a tool which helps to educate consumers to use electricity more responsibly and efficiently. |
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How does Eco-eye work? |
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Eco-eye uses a non-contact current transformer to measure the current passing through the wire(s) being monitored. It does not measure voltage. The current is sampled many times a second and the average of these readings is sent to the display every 4 seconds. The user can set the voltage from 90 to 255 volts and this is used to calculate the displayed Kw and cost figures. |
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Who is Eco-eye aimed at? |
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Quite simply, anyone who wants to save money on their electricity bills will want to own an Eco-eye. Once you realise how much power you are saving, you will never look back. If you save power, you save money! If you save money, you are helping to save our planet! Win, win for everyone!
There are different models available for domestic and commercial use; we also have specially designed versions for computer connectivity or use with microgeneration. See our product list for details.
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Will I need a qualified electrician to install Eco-eye?What else do I need to buy in order to use Eco-eye? |
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No, the Eco-eye sensor clips simply on to the outside of any positive cable and for convenience this is usually the one exiting your meter and thereby measures your entire usage. However, it could just as easily be the cable serving a particular area of your home or business. In either instance:
- It is not important what the cable size is providing the sensor is fully closed
- There is no need to disturb the original wiring in any way.
Once installed the sensor ‘speaks’ wirelessly to the display unit with no need for any direct cabling.
NOTE: If you do have any concerns about the condition or suitability of your installation wiring, you should consult a qualified electrician.
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How sensitive is Eco-eye? |
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The Eco-eye display is in 10 watt increments and the unit can detect a single light bulb being switched on or off. Eco-eye is designed to measure the total usage and works best when the background load is in excess of 50 watts. |
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Can I use rechargeable batteries with Eco-eye? |
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Yes, Eco-eye works well with ‘regular’ or rechargeable batteries but rechargeable batteries may not last as long as disposable ones. Four regular batteries are included with every unit. Did you know that regular batteries can be recycled? See www.wasteonline.org |
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How big is Eco-eye? |
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Eco-eye Elite
Display unit: 170mm x 80mm x 25mm.
Screen: 145mm x 50mm with bold figures 40mm high.
Eco-eye Mini
Display unit: 75mm x 75mm x 50mm
Screen: 60 mm x 60mm with bold figures 23mm high.
Eco-eye Smart
Display unit: 135 mm x 70mm x 40mm
Screen: 41 mm x 110 mm with bold figures 30mm high
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Where is Eco-eye made? |
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All Eco-eye products are designed in the UK. Products for low volume orders are still made in our UK factory whilst production of units for worldwide high volume orders has been transferred to our own factory in the PRC. The combination of our team of very experienced in-house designers and our own factories means we can react to design changes and bespoke customer requirements very quickly. We are continuing to develop innovative new products to add to our range – details are posted on the website periodically. |
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Why have you included a plastic key in the Eco-eye pack? |
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Many modern properties have meters which are located outside. Do you know where the key to your meter housing is? It’s our guess that you don’t! During our research we discovered that many householders have either lost or mislaid their key! So for your convenience, we have decided to provide you with a new key. This means that you can avoid any unnecessary frustrations and install eco-eye without delay. |
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What is the wireless range of Eco-eye? |
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This is a tricky one to answer. In ideal conditions the range would be in the order of 50 metres but this is compromised depending on factors such as the number of walls and the construction materials in the path of the signal. It is very rare to find that the Eco-eye does not work perfectly in most domestic properties but we do offer a full money-back guarantee for sales within the UK should you find that there is any issue.
You can also purchase a 3 metre extension cable for the sensor which gives the option of installing the transmitter in a convenient place which provides the best radio reception. It is also useful if your meter location is difficult to access or you need to have the transmitter close to a power outlet socket in order to use the optional AC/DC adaptor.
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What frequency does Eco-eye use to transmit and receive? |
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Eco-eye transmits on the 433 MHz wave band. This will not cause interference with any other equipment used in your home and is way below the frequencies that might be considered to be dangerous ‘micro-waves’. |
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Can I use Eco-eye outside of the UK? |
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, all versions of Eco-eye can be set to any voltage from 90v to 250v. Currency symbols £, $ or Euros can be set (also a worldwide currency symbol on the Elite 2, Mini 2 and Smart), making them usable in most countries throughout Europe and the rest of the world. If you need further information regarding this, contact us on info@eco-eye.com. |
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I don't have access to my meter - can I still have an Eco-eye? |
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Yes - Eco-eye can monitor any live cable. As an example, some blocks of flats have all the meters in one central area on the ground floor. In this situation you will usually have a supply cable coming into your individual flat feeding a fuse/distribution board, and it should be possible to clip the Sender onto that cable. It is also possible to clamp the sender unit onto the cable inside the fuse/distribution board, but this involves removing the front cover and we would always suggest you ask a competent electrician to do this. |
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Is Eco-eye suitable for three phase supplies? |
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All Eco-eye electricity monitors are suitable for three phase supplies with the use of additional sensors. The Elite 100 and Elite 200 come with three sensors as standard and are used primarily in business premises and not in domestic situations. |
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Will I lose my historical data if I change the batteries? |
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No. If you change the batteries you will only lose the data which hasn’t yet been stored to EPROM, i.e. 1 day maximum. |
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How are the CO2 emissions calculated? |
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Our default CO2 emissions factor we use reflects the UK Government published figure for Grid electricity. This figure can be modified by the user. |
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My neighbour has an Eco-eye too. Won’t my unit pick up his reading? |
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In the event that several people in the same area all have an Eco-eye, the transmission frequency can easily be changed to avoid any potential problems.The default channel is 2 but any other number from 1 to 30 can be selected, provided both the transmitter and receiver are set to the same number. See the instructions page for more details.
NOTE: IT IS ONLY NECESSARY TO CHANGE THE CHANNEL NUMBER IF YOUR UNIT IS COLLECTING DATA FROM ANOTHER ECO-EYE IN A NEIGHBOURING PROPERTY!
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Can I buy extra display units? |
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Certainly! Extra display units are sold separately as Eco-eye Elite Solo, Mini Solo and Smart Solo. Ideal if you wish to use extra display units elsewhere in the home or office. They all work with the existing transmitter and sensor provided in the original Elite, Mini or Smart systems and will show exactly the same information. |
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What is happening to Wi-eye? |
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Wi-eye has been superseded by Eco-eye Smart as this has the ability to stream and log data as well as display information on a display unit and computer. Existing customers wishing to have computer connectivity see Smart Upgrade below. |
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What features does Eco-eye Smart have? |
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As well as retaining many of the features included in the Elite and Mini, Eco-eye Smart has many extra ones. It can connect to a computer with a data cable (live data) or a memory card (historical data), Eco-eye Smart allows you to set your own daily usage target which is displayed in a graph on the screen. It also has LED traffic light load indicators which you can set to show your instantaneous usage. Battery life has been extended to 2 years+ in the display unit, dependent on battery choice and data output options.
It is available in four options:
Eco-eye Smart – Smart display, transmitter and sensor - without computer accessories
Eco-eye Smart PC - as above but with data cable and memory card for computer connectivity
Eco-eye Smart Upgrade - Smart display unit, data cable and memory card for use with the existing Elite and Mini systems
Coming soon - Eco-eye Smart PV – Specially configured for use with microgeneration and photovoltaic installations
For more information on Smart see Eco-eye Monitor Comparison Chart or Features on the Eco-eye Smart Page
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How much data does the Eco-eye Smart memory card hold? |
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In theory you can hold 10 years’ data on the memory card without downloading it. This data can be viewed at 4 second resolution. However it would be normal to transfer data from the memory card to your computer on a weekly basis. |
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Can I use any memory card for Eco-eye data storage? |
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No – Eco-eye Smart is only compatible with the specially formatted Eco-eye memory card which comes with Smart PC or separately as an additional item. |
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How do I view data once it is downloaded into my PC? |
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You can download and analyze your data using our free Trax software which is available from the website. |
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What can Trax do for me? |
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Using Trax you can:
download history from Smart
input multiple electricity tariffs
export data to Excel spreadsheets
view detailed graphs from 4 seconds to month view
analyze data from multiple memory cards
set up automatic email alerts to yourself for daily usage or high usage reports
See Trax page for more information |
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Where can I buy Eco-eye products? |
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Eco-eye products are available from the official Eco-eye website as well as other eco-friendly websites and regional distributors. Eco-eye is also available directly from us by mail order. See the relevant web page for our address. Eco-eye is also appears at various events up and down the country. Watch our website for up-to-date details. |
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Who should I contact if I have any further queries regarding Eco-eye products? |
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If you do have any queries regarding eco-eye, please contact us on info@eco-eye.com. We take all communications very seriously and are always looking for ways to improve our product. |
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Are there any business opportunities with Eco-eye? |
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We are always keen to hear from distributors both in the UK and overseas. To discuss this further, please complete the form on our Opportunities Page or contact info@eco-eye.com |
