Hi WAYNE.

08-Aug-03 10:22:00, WAYNE CHIRNSIDE wrote to AUGUST ABOLINS


  -=> AUGUST ABOLINS wrote to ALL <=-

 AA>> Hi All,   Does anyone here know a good supplier for a KWH meter
 AA>> that can be used on "per appliance basis"?  The first
thing I've
 AA>> been able to dig up in the internet is something supplied at:

 AA>> http://www.advancedenergyonline.com/catalog/systemcomponents/meter
 AA>> s.htm# 227

 AA>> Watts Up? Kilowatt-Hour Meter

 WC> Two ways to go from my POV. An Amprobe meter will work and being
 WC> mobile and unattached you can move it to various appliances. You'd
 WC> still need to measure the duty cycle of the appliance but that
 WC> could be handled by a clock modual where the clock ran elapsed
 WC> time when the unit was on. You'd have to work out the math
 WC> manually for kilowatt/hrs. For the more adventurous among us, like
 WC> me in my youth, you could pass the hot lead through a cheap toroid
 WC> coil on each appliance monitors with a secondary tap converting
 WC> the power to a signal that could be sent through X-10 style
 WC> moduals to your computer. From there it's a simple matter to plug
 WC> in the kilowatt hour rates for your area as well as fixed fees and
 WC> tax into your computer to compute each appliances cost per billing
 WC> period, duty cycle, log time on, independent power usage, ect. An
 WC> ambitious project but most of the stuff is premanufactured

 AA>> The Watts Up kilowatt-hour meter is easy to set-up and use. It
 AA>> gives the user power usage information for individual appliances,
 AA>> displaying true power consumed, (including power factor
 AA>> information), and keeps track of cumulative kilowatt-hours,
 AA>> cumulative time the meter has been plugged in, and amount of
 AA>> money the electricity consumed costs. A 15 amp circuit breaker
 AA>> protects against overloads. UL listed.

 AA>> 28-280-025 Watts Up? kWh Meter $95.95

 AA>> ...but there is no illustration of the product available, so it's
 AA>> hard to shop for this thing.  I'd like to use a KWH meter to
 AA>> monitor the usage (# of times on/off, and kwh's) of a water pump.

 WC> Take the amprobe reading _once_ perhaps borrowing the instrument
 WC> from a friend then just use the above mentioned clock modual as an
 WC> elapsed time meter and do the math, it's the cheap way to go.

That depends if the pump has a varying load (varying head) eg as the sump
empties then the watts consumed will also vary...

 WC> You
 WC> could even turn off everything in the house and yard leaving
 WC> _only_ the pump on and take before and after readings for an
 WC> elapsed time and figure the usage off the power companies meter.

yeah...

 WC> Digikey and JamesCo both carry midular clock moduals suitable to
 WC> monitor elapsed on time

if you can plug a mechanical timer switch, or other elecrtic powered
mechanical clock in parrellel with the motor that'll also measure
elapsed time...

 -=> Bye <=-

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