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Does anyone know of a wireless energy usage capture device, that one can attach to an appliance and find out the energy usage?

I know that there are certain energy monitors that do the job to some extent, however I am looking for a small device/tag that can permanently be attached to an appliance or cable to find out energy usage over longer periods of time. Energy monitors can only be attached to a device at a time and display the usage on a monitor, however I am looking for something that can capture and transfer data wirelessly.

I'm researching into a business idea for which this would be very useful.

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    Am I missing something here? If you want to measure power consumption you will have to attach it to the power line. For most appliances there is no way to do so. Given that, the easiest way is to plug in into the wall power socket. Which leaves you only with the question "What power monitor can transmits its data wirelessly?". And I assume you mean over Wifi specifically? That is the most compatible wireless protocol nowadays.
    – user2451
    Jan 2, 2016 at 16:03
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    Or are you thinking about something that measures by induction? In that case, what precision do you want? Because attaching it to any device and expecting reliable measurements seems impossible. Only if you wrapped it around the power cord you would have approximate equal dimensions (measuring distance) each time, but you have no way of knowing how much that cord is shielded.
    – user2451
    Jan 2, 2016 at 16:08

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It sounds like the Kill A Watt wireless might be what you are after. For more alternatives keep reading.

There is another product line called the Watts-Up that has USB connections to computers on some models, and a built in web server on the high end one. The high end one can be made to work over wireless with an adapter. The USB only versions could be used together with a Raspberry Pi and a USB WIFI adapter to achieve sending the data over the network.

If you are handy with electronics and such you might want to have a look at this HACKADAY solution. This likewise should interface easily to a Arduino or Raspberry Pi and allow you to send the data over a wireless network.

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