# Do you have a whole-house power monitoring system?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-whole-house-power-monitoring-system/955914>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [December 12, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-whole-house-power-monitoring-system/955914 "2021-12-12T02:09:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-whole-house-power-monitoring-system/955914/21 "2021-12-13T22:39:27Z")

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> [@Dr.Strangelove](#):
>
> Very cool! I wouldn’t mind having a control panel thing for my setup. A Raspberry Pi with a small display would do the trick. Although it is still cloud-based, it’s possible to extract the data from the device I linked to, so I could put together a real-time monitor.
> 
> How’s the frequency stability for the generator? I expect that many will have frequency sag under heavy load. Could be worth displaying that, too.

The generator is fairly small: just a 4000 W Honda. That’s a good question on frequency sag. It didn’t even occur to me to measure it.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering… the 50 A circuit breaker in the main panel (for the generator) feeds a dedicated, 50 A receptacle mounted to the basement wall. I place the generator outside, about 20 feet from the house, and then run a cable between the receptacle and the generator. Which means… the cable has a male plug on each end. Yes, it’s very much illegal. Don’t try this at home, kids. But it works for me, and I am very careful. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2021, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-whole-house-power-monitoring-system/955914/22 "2021-12-13T22:47:02Z")

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I’ve heard those called “suicide cables.”

I sorta wonder why no one has developed a safe male-male extension. One could have a box containing a GFCI system, a breaker, and a lockout device (requiring it to be physically plugged in on both ends before closing the circuit). It wouldn’t be too difficult to implement. Or maybe such a thing already exists.

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