Brultech Vs. TED

How They Work

• Sensors included with the devices are attached to your home’s electrical panel. Information gathered by these sensors is then transmitted to a monitoring device. With the ECM-1240, information can be sent to a computer for analysis by USB cable or hard-wired Ethernet connection. An optional wireless antenna is available for the ECM-1240 as well. With TED, information can be sent either by hard-wired Ethernet connection or by optional Wi-Fi connectivity to a computer, mobile phone or proprietary handheld TED display module.

Features

• The ECM-1240 and TED both let you monitor combined household usage or individual energy channels. For instance, with the ECM-1240 you can select and monitor the amount of energy currently being used by the television in your living room, complete with a live summary of the cost of the energy being used. The ECM-1240 also lets you view statistical charts with ranges that run from one to 30 days. TED provides you with real-time Kilowatt-per-hour readings for up to five household appliances. Like the ECM-1240, with TED you can view and analyze current voltage and monthly energy bill projections. TED is also compatible with several third-party applications that let you view energy usage data on devices like smartphones and tablet computers.

Technical Information

• Brultech and Energy Inc. publish different technical information for their devices. Brultech advertises that the ECM-1240 has two types of power-monitoring inputs: channel and auxiliary. Both measure voltage and current separately. The ECM-1240 has two channel inputs, each of which has input impedance of 20,000 ohm and maximum power measurement of 65, 535 kilowatts. Kilowatt-Hour usage is updated every second.

  Energy Inc. reports that TED is designed for use on 120/240-volt split-phase or single 60 Hz services, an energy standard typical in American homes. TED is natively compatible with up to 200 Amp electrical services, but it can handle up to 800 Amps provided you use four parallel 200-Amp feeds.

Availability and Price

• The basic ECM-1240 package includes the ECM-1240 module and all necessary connecting hardware. It costs around $175, as of the date of publication. Brultech also sells the ECM-1240 module on its own for around $120.

  Energy Inc. sells four versions of TED -- the 5000-G, 5000-C, 5002-G and 5002-C. The most basic unit, the 5000-G, costs about $200 and includes all of the necessary energy monitoring hardware but no wireless display capabilities. The 5002-C is the most advanced unit Energy Inc. sells. It includes everything in the 5000-G package, as well as wireless connectivity capabilities and a discrete handheld wireless display unit. It costs around $320.