Watts, kWh and Reporting

Look for both live power (W) and accumulated energy (kWh). Live watts drive automations like “cycle finished”; kWh tells you running cost. Adjustable reporting thresholds stop the plug flooding your hub with tiny changes.

800 Series & Long Range

800 Series devices add S2 security, SmartStart QR pairing and optional Z-Wave Long Range for garages, sheds and well houses. Older 700 Series and Z-Wave Plus devices still work fine on modern hubs.

Load Rating

Plug-in models top out around 15 A (about 1,800 W) on resistive loads. Heaters, pumps and compressors should stay well below that. For water heaters, pool pumps or other 240 V loads, use a heavy-duty hardwired switch instead.

Plug-In, In-Line or In-Wall

Plug-ins install in seconds. In-line switches sit on an appliance cord. In-wall metering relays hide behind an existing outlet or switch for a permanent, tamper-proof install but need wiring.

Hub Driver Support

The meter is only as useful as your hub’s driver. Home Assistant (Z-Wave JS), Hubitat and Z-Box generally expose power and energy entities well. Check community reports for your exact hub before buying in bulk.

Ezlo (the company behind the Vera hubs) has a new 800 Series Long Range plug that tracks watts and kWh, adds over-current protection for the plug and the appliance behind it, and keeps a compact footprint that won’t block the neighboring socket. It’s usually one of the least expensive ways to add metering to a Z-Wave network, which makes it ideal when you want to measure a whole row of appliances. Ezlo lists its own hubs plus Home Assistant and other Z-Wave controllers, and Alexa or Google control works through the hub. It’s a newer listing with a couple dozen ratings (around 4.2 stars) and only a 1-year warranty, and Ezlo doesn’t publish an amp rating on the listing as clearly as Minoston does, so stick to everyday appliances.

Shelly built the Wave Plug US LR around Z-Wave Long Range. Shelly quotes up to 1.5 miles at full power in ideal conditions on 912 MHz, and LR networks scale to around 4,000 devices instead of the old 232-node mesh limit. It also runs in normal 908.4 MHz mesh mode if you prefer. You get power metering, local timers and schedules (handy for auto-off on a space heater or iron), and a very low sub-0.3 W self-consumption, which matters when the whole point is measuring energy. Shelly says it works with any certified Z-Wave gateway. It’s the pick for a well pump, detached garage freezer or backyard outlet that your mesh can’t reach. Amazon ratings are currently low and few (around 3.4 stars), so plan on some parameter tuning and confirm your hub handles Shelly Wave devices.

Outdoor metering plugs are rare, and the Minoston MP22ZP is the one with a real track record (80+ ratings). It sits in an IP65 weather-resistant housing on a short pigtail and adds energy monitoring to the outdoor plug format, so you can see what your pond pump, fountain, electric grill, heated bird bath or holiday light display actually costs. Pairing is a QR scan, it supports daily schedules and timers, and in classic mode it repeats for nearby devices. It runs a 700 Series chip, so there’s no Long Range, and its rating (about 3.7 stars) is lower than the indoor Minoston plugs. Use it on a GFCI-protected outdoor receptacle with the outlet facing down, and keep it out of standing water.

Sometimes the outlet is buried behind a sofa, fridge or entertainment unit and a plug-in module won’t fit. Ezlo’s in-line switch sits on the appliance cord instead, giving you remote on/off plus watts and kWh tracking without touching your wall wiring. It’s an 800 Series Long Range device rated for up to 1,800 W of lamps, fans and appliances. Early buyers rate it highly (5 stars from 17 reviews at the time of writing), though that’s a small sample. Check whether the version you buy comes pre-corded or needs to be spliced onto a cord, and if it requires splicing, only do that if you’re comfortable with mains wiring.

There are very few in-wall Z-Wave outlets with built-in metering, so the practical workaround is a metering relay. The Shelly Wave 1PM US LR is a UL-certified, 1-channel relay rated up to 15 A with power metering, small enough to tuck into the box behind an existing receptacle or switch. Wire it to feed a switched outlet and you get a permanent, invisible “smart metered outlet” that nobody can unplug, which is perfect for a dedicated freezer, sump pump or bathroom heater circuit. It runs 800 Series with Long Range (Shelly quotes 1+ mile in ideal conditions). It needs mains wiring and box space, and ratings are modest (about 4.0 stars from a small sample).

The Wave 1PM Mini is the same idea as the 1PM shrunk down for crowded or shallow boxes. Shelly calls it the world’s smallest Z-Wave Long Range smart switch, and it still includes power metering. The trade-off is current: it’s rated 8 A, so it suits lamps, a TV and media setup, a fish tank, a small fridge or a router stack rather than heaters or big appliances. It’s also great inside a ceiling box to meter a light circuit. As with every relay here, it needs mains wiring, and Amazon ratings are still limited (around 3.8 stars from about a dozen reviews).

The Shelly Wave 2PM US LR gives you two independently controlled, metered channels in one relay, rated up to 14 A. That’s ideal for a split duplex receptacle where each half feeds a different appliance, or for metering two loads from one box, such as a garage freezer and a workshop compressor. It’s also the best-rated Shelly Wave relay on Amazon right now (about 4.5 stars from 17 reviews). Like the 1PM, it’s 800 Series with Long Range and UL certified, and it needs proper mains wiring and a box with room for it. Check the manual for how the 14 A is shared across both channels before planning heavy loads.

Some loads should never be switched off by an automation: a refrigerator, a sump pump, a network rack or a medical device. The Shelly Wave PM Mini is a measure-only Z-Wave power meter with no relay inside, so it can’t cut power by accident, yet it still reports consumption on a circuit up to 16 A. That makes it the safest way to build “the fridge stopped running” or “the sump pump is cycling too often” alerts. It’s extremely small for retrofit boxes and uses 800 Series Long Range. Reviews are very few so far (4.7 stars from just 4), and like the other in-box devices it needs mains wiring.

No plug can safely switch an electric water heater, pool pump, EV-adjacent circuit or large 240 V heater, but the Aeotec Heavy Duty Smart Switch can. It’s a hardwired 40 A Z-Wave Plus switch that reports watts and kilowatt-hours in real time, which matters because these high-power loads are usually the most expensive things in the house to run. It has by far the biggest review base among the hardwired picks (280+ ratings, about 4.1 stars), and Aeotec lists SmartThings, Home Assistant, HomeSeer and Vera support. It’s an older Z-Wave Plus design without S2 or Long Range, stock on Amazon has been limited at times, and it absolutely requires a licensed electrician for installation.

Plugs measure individual appliances; the Aeotec Home Energy Meter 8 measures the whole house. Two 200 A clamp-on sensors go around your mains feeds (it supports up to two phases or split-phase service), and it reports real-time consumption to your hub over 800 Series Long Range. It can also measure production, so solar owners can see surplus power and automate loads like water heating when panels are exporting. Pair it with a few metering plugs and you can see both the total and where it’s going. Aeotec claims 99% accuracy. Installation is inside the electrical panel, so it’s an electrician job, and the review base is still small (about 4.2 stars from two dozen ratings).

Measuring one appliance indoors?

Start with the Minoston MP31ZP: full 15 A rating, watts and kWh, and 800 Series Long Range.

Short on space or using Ring or 2GIG?

The mini Minoston MP21ZP fits two per outlet and lists the widest hub support.

Metering many appliances on a budget?

Buy several Ezlo Z-Wave Smart Plugs for watts and kWh on a modern LR network.

Outlet far from the hub, or outdoors?

Use the Shelly Wave Plug US LR for distance, or the IP65 Minoston MP22ZP outside.

Want it hidden in the wall?

Shelly Wave 1PM for one 15 A circuit, 2PM for two, or PM Mini for loads that must never switch off.

Big loads or the whole house?

The Aeotec Heavy Duty Switch for 240 V equipment and the Home Energy Meter 8 for total and solar.

How accurate are Z-Wave energy monitoring plugs?

Good enough to compare appliances, spot trends and drive automations, but not a replacement for your utility meter. Expect readings to be within a few percent on steady resistive loads, with larger errors at very low wattage (phone chargers, standby devices) and on electronics with poor power factor. For billing-level insight across the whole house, add a clamp meter like the Aeotec Home Energy Meter 8.

How do I get a “washer finished” alert from an energy plug?

Watch the plug’s power (W) value in your hub. When it stays above a running threshold (say 10 W) the cycle is active; when it drops below that threshold for a few minutes, send a notification. In Home Assistant this is a simple numeric-state trigger with a “for” duration; Hubitat’s Rule Machine does the same. Set the plug’s power-report threshold low enough that drops are reported promptly. Front-loaders draw large amounts on heating, so plug them into a 15 A rated model like the MP31ZP.

Will energy reporting flood my Z-Wave network?

It can if every plug reports every tiny change. Most metering devices let you set a minimum change (for example 5 W or 10%) and a periodic report interval. Raise those thresholds on plugs where you only care about kWh totals, and keep them sensitive only where you run power-based automations. This keeps the mesh responsive for locks and sensors.

Is there an in-wall Z-Wave outlet with energy monitoring?

Very few are available in the US, which is why we include metering relays. A Shelly Wave 1PM or 2PM installed in the box behind a receptacle gives you switched, metered outlets that look completely standard. If you only want measurement and never want automations to cut power, use the relay-free Shelly Wave PM Mini. For ordinary non-metering in-wall outlets, see our best Z-Wave smart plugs and outlets guide.

Do I need a special hub to see energy data?

You need a Z-Wave controller whose driver exposes power and energy. Home Assistant with a Z-Wave USB stick, Hubitat and Zooz Z-Box handle metering well, and Home Assistant’s Energy dashboard can graph kWh from each plug. Some security panels and simpler hubs show only on/off. For Long Range, both the hub and the stick must support Z-Wave LR. See our guide to the best Z-Wave hubs and USB sticks if you’re choosing a controller.