Choosing a Power Meter / Monitor

SlaveToSilence · Post by **SlaveToSilence** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 5:43 pm

i've been looking to buy a power meter to find out how much power my current computer and laptop are drawing (watts) and then most likely building a mini-itx pc to leave downloading 24/7 to save on electricity

i've found one on the 'bay for about Â£15 inc P&P but was unsure about the specs (why cant it just say 1watt-500watts or whatever it would be!)

would this be right for going as low and as high as i would need? (would be using it to test other things too from large TVs to kitchen electronics)

if someone could make sence of this i would be very greatful

Thanks

aaa · Post by **aaa** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 6:11 pm

I would go by the 15 amps. Most electronics say how many amps they use on the back.

SlaveToSilence · Post by **SlaveToSilence** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 6:52 pm

whats that supposed to mean? lol im guessing it will be ok, the minimum 1 watt is good, if the wall AC is 240v (UK) and its max amps is 15A, then the max volts times max amps equals 3600 maxx whats.. so why does it say max 31750VA?

whats the difference between watts and voltamps? i would have thought they're the same? volts x amps = watts

very confusing :p

lunadesign · Post by **lunadesign** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 11:27 pm

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volt_amps for a decent explanation of VA vs Watts.

I use the "Watts Up" meter for measuring power and its excellent. They even have an advanced version where I believe you can hook it up to a computer and log the samples over time.

lunadesign · Post by **lunadesign** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 11:31 pm

Also, the 3750VA is based on a max voltage of 250. Although UK voltage is 240V, voltage can actually vary a bit plus or minus. For example, I'm in the US on a supposedly 120V circuit but I'm actually seeing closer to 117V right now.

jones_r · Post by **jones_r** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 11:46 am

Hello,

I bought the PM230 power meter in the UK, from this website:

http://www.greenandeasy.co.uk/product_s ... d_sent=847

The PM230 works *flawlessly*, and this website has *superb* customer service. I'm very happy with this deal.

For measuring computer wattage 13amps (at 230V) is of course overkill. The PM230 has no trouble measuring high power consumption devices, for example I measured my Air Conditioner with the PM230 (which draws around 2000W), and it had no problem at all (I practically measured every electrical device in my house).