Powerpal

Works ok overall most of the time but is behind the times a bit, for example, the rise of electric vehicles has the energy providers offering ev plan rates at certain times e.g. 12am to 6am at 8c per kw. This app doesn't provide that as an option when adding tariff costings so the cost data is incorrect. Add that option in and it's 5 stars from me.

app works well mostly I have been using this app both on Apple and Android for a number of years. whilst the app is good there are a few things I would like to see for example being able to compare usage to same day last year and seeing trends over time. I also think it'd be good if the app could show people the comparison between the price they are paying with their current provider as per the settings as well as if they were with Amber. happy to share some thoughts directly with developer

Update for v2.1.2: ok, shows the current day days again, good, but Android 'exit' button no longer works, have to use switch and close to get rid of it - or to get b/t to try connection again! This app seriously needs a simple 'retry Bluetooth connection' button. I'm so sick of killing the app and restarting it just to get it to retry connection to Bluetooth again...

used to be really good until you updated it today. Now it freezes when you try to go back to the first month of usage. I uninstalled it and reinstalled it and still freezes. Highly frustrating when this happens because we lose two to three years of data so this app is now only capable of reading usage in real time not storing historical data.

Great little app that enables me keep a measured eye on the usage. My original Powerpal ran out if battery and I was missing the power feedback. It has now been replace with a new unit and I can ongoing see what's happening as it happens. 👍

Really Good App, providing live usage data, but not flexible enough, I have moved to AGL EV plan and can't set my own off-peak time to calculate the accurate charges. I have to export the data and do the calculations manually to validate my bill. Also when switching the plan it does not ask the plan change date it just applies from the time we changed it in the app, it should ask when the plan got activated and should start the calculations from that date.

I've only had the device and app for a week, but so far they do everything I expected. Both the device and app were easy to set up. My meter box is 50m from the house, so I sometimes have to go outside for the signal to connect, but that is a Bluetooth issue, not a Powerpal issue. I have seen odd power spikes on some nights so it is useful for alerting you to anomalies. I just need to track down what is being extravagant with power at 4am when the household is asleep!

Like so many other reviewers here the app continuously drops bluetooth connection, even when you are in a room right next to the unit at the meter box, it regularly fails to connect, it sends repair requests alerts several times each day AND right through the NIGHT, it is constantly going off and constantly beeping to repair, which cannot be silenced. It just drives you crazy. It's great when its working but so much software connection problems makes it a nightmare.

As others have said, the info displayed is as expected, but it will not stay connected to the Bluetooth transmitter. It forgets that it is paired so it CONSTANTLY asks to be paired. I have got to the point where I am about to delete the app. The developers need to fix this issue quickly. It is not a new issue. If you look at other reviews it has been happening for YEARS.

Great! I had this installed in my old property but I've since moved and this place is smaller. It's quicker to connect. I'd like for it to memorise the strength, usage and pattern of devices and appliances so that we're able to label things for better control. It wouldn't be able to specifically watch an item whilst inuse, though it'll allow you to see if it's on. I'm not happy that my data's being sold for this but it's a little late. With Optus, Latitude etc

Great app and product when it is working, really useful to monitor my usage! However, the option to register never works for me. I press save and it looks like it should have saved but I look again and it says unregistered. Over and over again. Other thing is I regularly can't connect and have to forget my device and pair again to get it working. I regularly also get the dialogue box to approve the pairing when it shouldn't need to do this, can be multiple times a day.

Was surprised how easy it was to set-up. Am pleased with the response time when reading it live. It can take a while to upload more than one days history if you've been away, so be patient. I wish there was a way to track your billing cycle (1 month or 2 or 3 monthly) within the app as it would make it better to compare to what I'm getting charged. Otherwise it has made me aware which devices use more power than others and have strategies in place to reduce usage where we can.

So far so good! The app really helps me to see what we're spending and how much energy we actually use. Improvement suggestions: it would be to show your usage against a benchmark of similar households so you know where you sit based on the average. I don't know if what I'm using is above or below average for my household type. It would also be good to plug in other energy provider rates to see what you can be saving if you switched.

Information is good, useful and well presented. It tells me when best to use power hungry appliances and charge the electric car. The problem as most people mention is the connection. First, it should be on wi-fi, so you can monitor from anywhere. Second and more importantly, the Bluetooth loses connection all the time. There is no 'seek connection' button, so the two ways to reconnect: 1) wait until it magically happens, which can take a long time. 2) Turn Bluetooth on and off. Not great.

Great when it's working. Bluetooth would sometime will not connect. Try forget connection then setup the app again( not permanent fix). The data is stored so it would be transferred to the app eventually, when Bluetooth sort it self out. But the whole purpose of power tracking is to know usage real time with out running to the metering box and calculating your usesage. I got it for free courtesy of the Vic Gov, would not spend money on a product thats eventually work, or work most of the times.

Great way of tracking your power usage, when the thing works. Unfortunately the Bluetooth profile being used by the metering device constantly loses connection with my phone, meaning Bluetooth has to be reset almost every time I use it. (From looking at other reviews here, seems I'm not the only one.) If they could just get around to fixing this, I'd rate it higher.

App is great. Haven't had any problems yet. App looks appealing. There aren't heaps of confusing menu options. The real time data is awesome! We can see the power spikes when using appliances like the kettle or air-conditioning and how much it costs to run. Different graph options to show the usage data. You can pick which one is easiest for you to understand. The appliance itself is quite small and discrete. Runs on a battery so it doesn't add to the power bill. I highly recommend.

Worked well initially, then the outside unit failed. It was replaced, to their credit, but only worked briefly. Now, it loads current usage but won't load historical data to my phone. Not sure if it's another failed outside unit or the latest software update has corrupted the app. Will advise if I get any joy from the provider. Unit fails and loses memory randomly. No explanation.

The idea behind the app is not bad, but the app itself is clunky: The Bluetooth range is a lot less than specified. There is no way to force reconnect. The colour of the entire display changes depending on electricity use (so mine is often blue because it fails to connect). Instead, it would be useful of the graph displayed the past use in different colours, too. And lastly, it was nice when it was new, but after a while I knew which appliance uses how much, and now the novelty has worn off.

Let me start by saying that, when working correctly, the device and the app are awesome. Being able to track your energy consumption in real time, as well as see an estimate in terms of costs really helps understand and make changes where needed. Unfortunately I also got caught in the endless firmware update loop where you can't use the app at all (not even get to the settings). This is unique to Android as I could use an iPad to upgrade f/ware, then reconnect Android, now everything is fine.