This gadget shows how much electricity and gas you are currently using | Tech

Smart meters are installed in more and more Dutch homes. It automatically reports what you use at a certain time, so that you no longer have to call your energy supplier for the meter readings.

Some electricity and gas companies also provide you with insight into that data, so that you have a better idea of ​​when you are burning a lot. Handy, but not every supplier is equally open with that information. You are often limited to their own website or app, where you only see information that is displayed in a specific way.

The Dutch HomeWizard has a device that gives you a slightly better idea. You plug the Wi-Fi P1 Meter into a port of your meter box, after which you connect the gadget to your WiFi network via an accompanying app. You can then see in the same app what you are using at a specific time, or how economical you were in the past days, weeks or months.

The P1 Meter works on all smart meters sold in the Netherlands. They are equipped with a so-called P1 port – a kind of old-fashioned telephone connection at the top right of the cabinet. If your meter box says ‘SMR 5’, you can connect the meter without needing an extra power source – the P1 port supplies it with electricity.

Connecting with WiFi is easy and the app is quite extensive. In line graphs you can see what you have used, where you can switch between a live overview and your consumption over the past day, week, month or year. The overview only shows electricity, you will find gas in the other graphs.

It is nice that you can enter your current electricity and gas tariff, so that you get a live overview of what you have to pay at a specific moment. In addition, the app maker sells a subscription for 1 euro per month, so that a self-learning algorithm reports unusual situations to you. For example, the app sounds an alarm if the heating is still at 20 degrees while you are already in bed.

In addition to the P1 Meter, HomeWizard also sells sockets that map your energy consumption in a similar way. Then you can see, for example, what only the washing machine or dryer uses. This is not possible with the P1 Meter: it only sees everything that is measured by your meter box.

But where the P1 Meter is a cheap solution with its 30 euros, you have to dig a little deeper into your pocket for those sockets. One copy will cost you around 30 euros. So if you want to know what your dishwasher, washing machine and dryer use, the price rises to 90 euros.

This makes the P1 Meter feel somewhat like a lure. It’s nice to see your energy consumption so clearly for a few bucks, but it tastes like more. And before you know it, you’ll be spending a lot more money at the manufacturer.

It is nice to see how HomeWizard makes its data available for other apps. For example, you can connect the devices fairly easily with the smart home platform Home Assistant, so that your power consumption can be used smartly in all kinds of ways.

It takes some technical knowledge and puzzling, but then you have something. For example, Home Assistant can warn when your washing machine has passed its power peak, meaning your laundry is probably finished. A smart speaker or flashing light can then warn you, so that you can put the laundry in the dryer on time.

It makes the P1 Meter and its sockets a great gadget for those who want more insight into electricity and gas consumption. The information comes in an extensive manner in the app, and the associated subscription is a nice stick behind the door for chaotic people who forget to turn off the heating or TV.

The information shown is sometimes already available from your energy supplier, and if their app shows that well enough for you, this gadget may be a bit overkill. We suspect that in practice it is therefore especially nice for smarthome hobbyists: they can suddenly link their energy consumption to the rest of their home.