9adb5837   
   From: spamme9@gmail.com   
      
   On 7/12/2012 6:44 PM, Ecnerwal wrote:   
   > All you need to get a disk readout is a watch, if you have a disk   
   > meter...perhaps a calculator as well, both of which are probably built   
   > into your cell phone, even if it's not a "smartphone."   
   >   
   > For a not-huge chunk of change  and one visit of a licensed electrician   
   > competent to disconnect your main wire, run it through a current   
   > transformer, and reconnect it, you can have a much more convenient   
   > method to look at your usage from inside the house.   
      
   You can buy a clip-on current monitor for far less than the cost of   
   an electrician.   
      
      
      
     An ammeter is the   
   > simplest readout to connect, or you can have an actual power meter if   
   > you wish to be fussy (if the voltage varies enough that an ammeter is   
   > not a pretty direct reading of your power used, you have fairly poor   
   > power supply.)   
      
   Depending on how many phases you have, you may need 2 or 3 current meters.   
      
   An ammeter will let you calculate volt-amps.  That is NOT the power   
   that you pay for.  You need phase information to calculate real power.   
   That's why monitoring the electric company meter is best.  It reads out   
   exactly what you're paying for.   
      
     It's also a lot more like instantaneous, which something   
   > depending on disk rotation is going to be a far cry from - if there's   
   > even a rotating disk - modern meters, even if not "smart" are often just   
   > an LCD display.   
      
   Meters vary.  Mine has a simulated wheel on the LCD display plus   
   an infrared LED that flashes (once per second at 3600W).   
      
   A current transformer updates in real time, while the   
   > disk only tells you every few seconds if you are using lots of power, or   
   > every few minutes if you are using a small amount of power.   
      
   Give some examples of why you'd need instantaneous readouts and data   
   integrated accurately over a few seconds wouldn't work.   
      
   >   
   > That's a hardware solution, of course, but beats the heck out of   
   > standing around by the meter pointing your phone at it, if you want   
   > ongoing monitoring. You can even datalog it with a computer and make   
   > fancy charts. Whether that will actually affect your power use patterns   
   > kinda depends on you.   
   >   
      
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