Coming out over the past year, electronic monitoring devices show a computerized display of home power consumption. The only way to really know how to save electricity is by understanding how much power products actually use.  Being able to see how much you are spending at any moment is a powerful motivational tool to save energy!

We have covered the inexpensive Kill a watt power meter in the past. Here are some more advanced energy monitoring solutions.

EnergyHub Home Base

Home Base is an energy-monitoring control panel that lets you monitor your home’s energy use and allows you to control heating and cooling systems, as well as other appliances. This unit features a touch screen interface that directly communicates with smart meters. It can give you an estimate of how much your electricity usage is costing and help you reduce it. This system costs about $400.

General Electric Nucleus System

This advanced energy monitoring system is designed to work with smart meters to report energy usage, estimated cost, and to allow remote control of heating and cooling systems. This system also works with smartphones. A future version will not require a smart meter.

Wiser Energy Management System

The Wiser Energy Management System is one example from France that informs the homeowner to make power adjustments by shutting down unused appliances. With installation, the Wiser system costs about $600 and will take away $60, or 20% off a $300 monthly power bill. In less than a year, the device is paid back from the energy savings.

Energy Detective

The Energy Detective is a more powerful unit that can display energy use in a whole house or on a circuit by circuit basis. Datalogging software is available. It installs in your circuit breaker panel and has a remote LCD panel. Amazon sells it.

Black & Decker

Black & Decker also makes a energy monitor but it connects at the power meter. You need to make sure it is compatible with your meter. It costs about $100.

Measuring how much electricity you use is a great way to help you start saving energy. Being able to see the exact savings helps motivate you to perform additional energy-saving changes.

Google has a new Google PowerMeter free electricity usage monitoring tool that provides you with information on how much energy your home is consuming. Google PowerMeter receives information from utility smart meters and in-home energy management devices and visualizes this information for you on iGoogle (your personalized Google homepage). Google PowerMeter is free to both utilities and consumers.

Update: Google power meter was discontinued in the middle of 2011. Perhaps a little too ahead of its time or superseded by utility companies’ web-based tools.

The TED 5000 energy monitoring system also has an iPhone application.

It currently supports the The Energy Detective TED 5000 energy monitor which starts at $199.99. Many people will need an electrician to hook it up.

Google PowerMeter added support for the PowerCost Monitor WiFi Gateway in late 2010. This WiFi unit wirelessly relays information about your electrical usage to Microsoft Hohm and Google PowerMeter.

See how much energy you are using and optimize your usage to save money.

Some local utility companies have Smart meters that show instantaneous and cumulative power usage without the need to buy anything extra.