Apple's iPad APP OF THE WEEK (UK and Ireland), March 2011
AppStore Rewind 2011, one of Apple's favourite iPhone finance apps of 2011 (UK and Ireland)
Closely monitor your household energy and water usage and the chances are you will SAVE MONEY!
This useful application makes it easy to monitor your household utility meters. Once you start entering readings, your usage, costs and savings are calculated and displayed in easy to visualise graphs.
KEY FEATURES
- Monitor up to five separate meters, e.g. electricity, gas, water, solar ... etc
- Quick entry of readings, as often as you like
- Use the rear-facing torch/flashlight when reading your meters (if your device has one)
- Local reminders so you don't forget to enter your readings
- Displays usage and costs for the latest readings period, and compares this with your average or previous year
- Plots graphs of usage and costs per day, week, month, quarter or year, so that you can visualise changes over time, e.g. against the previous year
- Multiple colour themes (black, red, blue, green ... etc)
- Import historical readings from a CSV file
- Backup your data and sync it between devices by email, AirDrop, Dropbox or iCloud
- Export your readings as a CSV file for easy import into a spreadsheet
- Universal app, works on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad
METERS, CURRENCY AND RATES
- User configurable units, so the app could be used for other types of measurement
- Support for meters that count up (e.g. electricity, gas, water ... etc) or down (e.g. oil)
- Uses the currency from your device's region setting, but you can override this per meter (e.g. for holiday homes)
- Handles a wide range of rates and charges, e.g. fixed or time based rates, per-unit rates, stepped rates for up to 12 levels, Economy 7/10, time of day meters ... etc
BILLS
- Check your bills by comparing any pair of readings (e.g. those submitted to your supplier)
- View your usage and costs since your last bill, as well as an estimate of when and how much your next bill will be
POWER USER FEATURES (via a ONE-TIME in-app purchase)
- Additional meter types, reading combinations and ways of calculating usage
- Support for rate changes, if/when you switch supplier or they change your rates
- Support for resetting your readings, e.g. if you get a replacement meter
- Automatic backups to iCloud
PRO USER FEATURES (via a ONE-TIME in-app purchase)
- Removes the restriction on meter numbers, e.g. for landlords, businesses and professionals
SUPPORT
Please use the link to my support page from the AppStore page or from the app itself (or simply go to http://grahamhaley.co.uk/meters/.
Alternatively, contact me directly via my support pages and you will get a quick response.
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Start Meter Reading to Save Money
Mark Skinner
Meter reading or lack thereof can be very expensive. You could possibly save money by downloading this incredible app. I have owned this app for over 9 years (since Jan 2010). This app is excellent. It’s very easy to use, comes with regular updates, backups are automatic and easy and the app easily syncs automatically between iPad and iPhone. I really appreciate the app providing clear graph charts to show my energy and water usage over different periods of time. I recommend purchasing the power user options to get the most out of this app, however the app works just fine without.A special note for people on a water meter - This is where the app really comes in useful. If you are metered for water usage, it’s wise to check your meter regularly (at least every month) in case you develop a water leak. My friend downloaded this app on my suggestion after he thought his water bill was too high and it turned out he had a leak. He was spending an extra £30 a month on water than he needed due to a leak. Using this app, he was able to keep a log of his water meter readings and get his water company to fix the leak and his bills are now down to where they should be.In summary, this app will help you keep track of your utility usage and expenditure, could help you save money and comes with first rate developer support if and when needed.
Smart app, but needs redesign
PLnet08
I think it’s a really smart app - all you need is to enter your readings and it calculates god knows what sort of statistics and can even help you get a cheaper supplier at a touch of a button.But it’s too complicated. I don’t know what half of the functions do. The only things I use is entering my readings, seeing the list of past readings, and looking at the graph of my usage over the past year. The usage cost shown for my meters is inaccurate and most just show 0.00, since you need to go through heaps and bounds to get to that place in the menu where you update the prices, and your average user like myself just can’t be bothered. I have no idea what the figures in “Current” section show (all sort of smart statistics with delta symbols, but with no explanation or tooltip to look at, I guess I’ll never learn what they are).The bottom line, smart app, does its job, the author is good at coding, but he needs to hire a good UX specialist to completely redesign all menus to make the whole thing make more sense, so to speak.
Developer Response
The app can only show you the cost of your energy if you enter your rates. If you don't do this, then yes it will show £0.00 (hardly inaccurate). Current is simply the most recent period of time you have chosen (day, week, month ... etc), basically the right most point on the graph. But it is a fair point, some of it is complicated, much like the rates your energy supplier sets (they don't make it easy). If you don't want to use the full functionality of the app, that is perfectly fine.
Top rate app
ArachneSings
I looked at and tried out a dozen other apps before I found this one. Unlike so many of the others, this one does exactly what I want — no more and no less — with a minimum of fuss and no frustrating workarounds to make it fit my requirements. Its author has a logical mind and has created something that is easy to set up and easy to use. It is really useful if you live in the UK and want to keep close tabs on the costs of your energy consumption. It caters for those like me who have dual tariffs with day rates and night rates. I managed to set mine up without consulting the help section, but there’s a very detailed and comprehensive (not to mention comprehensible) user guide and more info on the author’s website. How nice to find such a useful and well put together app.
Great app but needs cubic feet to kWh conversion for gas
Alex JT
Have been searching for an app to help me work out the actual ongoing cost of my gas/electricity supplies for ages – and this looks like it’s the one!Really simple to use (though a more engaging tutorial with pictures may help others, or even better, a ‘setup wizard’ which guides you through the process of setting it all up) and excellent, clear information with the ongoing cost of your usage available at the touch of a button, once you’ve entered in your price-per-kWh and daily standing charges – brilliant!The only problem I’m having: my gas meter measures in cubic feet (ft3) and I give my meter readings to my energy supplier in cubic feet, but I am billed in kWh, meaning my supplier does the conversion for me when I submit my meter readings. Having a cubic feet meter but being billed in kWh does not appear to be supported by this app.As a result, I either have to set my billing up as kWh and give readings in kWh (meaning I have to do a manual conversion of ft3 to kWh every time I enter a reading) or I have to set the billing up as ft3 and give me readings as ft3, therefore meaning the pricing it works out won’t be accurate.Quite a few people have their gas meters as cubic feet, while most are billed in kWh, so I was disappointed this feature wasn’t included.Is there any chance this can be added please?Barring that, it’s a great app – it even gives you an instant comparison price as to how much you could save by switching elsewhere!
Developer Response
That is what the conversion factor is for in the meter settings. See the user guide for a detailed description.
Fixed a layout issue when viewing readings for meters with multiple counters.
Minor cosmetic changes.
The app now requires iOS 12.0 or above.
Version 6.5
The developer, Graham Haley, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Usage Data
Privacy practices may vary based, for example, on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Provider
Graham Haley
Size
15 MB
Category
Finance
Compatibility
Requires iOS 12.0 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 12.0 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 12.0 or later.
iPod touch Requires iOS 12.0 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.