Best electrical meter sockets according to redditors

Plug everything into this.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P8M7N9F/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_J12jDbYP3VMZB

That's terrible.

I used a cheap plug in "Electricity Usage Monitor" to measure the actual running cost of my lights/fishtank etc.
(Turns out all my lights cost way less than you would think in power. About a dollar a watt a year assuming 12hr/day use).

It's just lights are big and showy, compared to heating / cooling, that is responsible for most of a homes power usage (For example a hot water system running for an hour uses more power than my light running all day, and my lights are excessive, to put in nicely).

So actually being able to show the real cost (not abstract maths on paper) might really help your case. You could always offer to pay that extra cost, or do some work to the value of that cost.

Something like: https://www.amazon.com/Electricity-Monitor-Spartan-Power-SP-PM120/dp/B079JWGS92/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1549942672&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=mains+power+watt+meter&dpPl=1&dpID=51ocNwJhZYL&ref=plSrch

Edit: formatting for clarity

I don't know what other people think, but obviously you're not an electronics guru (neither am I!). I get pretty careful when it comes to things I'm plugging into the mains. If you were just measuring power consumption of a single chip, it would be different. So I'd be tempted to buy a plug in power meter (something like this ) and then figure out where it puts it's output into whatever drives its LCD display. Then read that into the arduino.

However, in the future, something like this may be the ticket:
http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/cs5463.html

Also check out this if you want to try and make something yourself.

FYI, there's a hell of a deal on those energy monitors at Amazon right now: 3 for $46.

https://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-DSB09104-Energy-Microfiber/dp/B011540UAO/

While this is commendable, how much power are you using? I would think that would be the big issue if you did this for a long time. If you're not sure how to measure, you can get something like the KiloWatt to determine. Once I did this sort of thing and figured that out, I decided to build a Ryzen box.

https://www.amazon.com/Poniie-PN2000-Electricity-Electrical-Consumption/dp/B0777H8MS8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1540739544&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=kilowatt+meters&psc=1

Does your energy consumption increase account for all of that larger bill or did the cost of electricity and/or its delivery go up too?

There could be other factors as well. I'm not saying tanks don't have a cost to run but something simple like increased heating or cooling, longer showers or more laundry, degrading seals on windows or doors, less efficient fridge, other electronics - they could also play a part in the household using more energy.

If you want to confirm the true cost of your tanks you could measure them with an electricity meter like this.

Something like this?

Poniie PN2000 Plug-in Kilowatt Electricity Usage Monitor Electrical Power Consumption Watt Meter Tester w/ Extension Cord https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0777H8MS8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_.vlxDbWXF53FM

A simple electrical usage meter is super handy when checking for power usage and they are cheap. This way you can test real world usage vs just the rated amps or watts which is usually at the max.

For example, if it is rated for 100 watts you aren't running that sewing machine at full the whole time. The motor may also require more at surge than continuous. So you can measure the amount it takes to say make a quilt from end to end or your use on a typical day.

Knowing this can save you a bunch of $ vs over spending on solar or batteries. They are well worth the investment, just get one that will store the info when unplugged or power is out.

KILL-O-WATTS

(Actually a cool product Kill A Watt Energy Monitor if you’ve never heard of it before)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0777H8MS8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Initial I was thinking about the GTX 750 ti but I'm not too sure. I know your board has PCI Express 1.1 with a 1x16 config. I believe you would be fine using a PCI express 3.0 GPU with PCI express 1.1 slot. Problem is I couldn't really find any information regarding using GTX 750 ti's in PCI express 1.1 slots. There is a chance that the GPU might not even work in the slot. Also, another problem is I am really bad at determining bottlenecks. Here are somethings I looked at. There were more sites but these were the main ones. I AM NOT AT ALL Saying these are reliable sources. Just throwing them out there. For one the hwcompare site for some stats is a bit misleading. Youtube video was nice to see a real life comparison.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113024

http://ark.intel.com/products/27720/Intel-82945G-Memory-Controller

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core2+Duo+E4400+%40+2.00GHz&id=935

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/371113-33-supported-graphic-cards-intel-945g-chipset

http://www.hwcompare.com/17288/geforce-gtx-750-ti-vs-radeon-r7-260x/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Ww-W5w-JU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487025&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

For sure though you will most likely need a new PSU. Personally I have a wattage meter like this but better http://www.amazon.com/iMeshbean%C2%AE-Energy-Voltage-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B00K6BJ5XG/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1415789338&sr=1-5&keywords=wattage

I would get a read see where you are at. Add the GPU estimated wattage and go from there. If you don't have one than I personally would go 50-100 more watts than what the GPU needs.

I recommend the GTX 750 ti because it is extremely good on consumption. At first it may seem like you are paying more but over time you will save on your electricity bill.

There are too many external factors to consider. Insulation value of your home probably makes the most difference and we really can't measure that.

​

You can easily found out for yourself with one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Electricity-Analyzer-Monitoring-Equipment/dp/B07M8JKLG5/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=power+meter&qid=1556896508&s=gateway&sr=8-1

>Aparte de will prowse que otras fuentes me puedes recomendar para aprender del tema?

Battery university,

y electronica en general.
EEVBlog
Electroboom (basico).
Great scott.

>No tengo mucho conocimiento sobre el tema pero he estado leyendo y quisiera aprender y energizar cosas en la casa con luz solar (mas alla de los apagones). Me gustaria saber mas sobre el sistema que vas a instalar y los costos, los paneles solares, la controladora, las baterias, que tipo de dispositivos vas a energizar, etc.

Toda la casa? Aires también?

Lo mejor es que pases una lista de las cosas que quieres usar y su consumo. Un kill a watt meter no viene mal.

https://www.amazon.com/Century-Energy-Voltage-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B06XH73LJB/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=killawatt+meter&qid=1557038490&s=gateway&sr=8-3

>Tambien mas detalles del sistema que usas actualmente con la bateria de carro.

Mi sistema actual usa.

1 Panel de 100W de richsolar (esos dan 100W de verdad, que no todos lo logran, wills prowse tiene varios videos comparando paneles solares). El panel vale 80$.

1 controlador solar barato de 30A PWM que vale 10$.

El inversor es un Bestek 1000W, lo consigues por 40$ en ebay. Hay una buena review de el.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE7W1lZNEDg

El inversor ya sobrevivió yo metiendole un corto circuito en la salida por accidente varias veces (larga historia xd).

Ojo que es un Inversor de onda cuadrada, no puedes usar motores de bombas de agua, lavadoras y airesacondicionados con el (los motores de ventiladores si los puedes usar que son motores shaded pole o PSC). Tampoco lo puedes usar con luces LED que usen un capacitor dropper (la forma mas facil de descartar si una luz es capacitor dropper es viendo si puede trabajar con 110V o 220V (que te deice que no lo es), o solo con 110V(que puede que lo sea)).

En fin, con el sistema que tengo actualmente puedo mover el PC de dia cuando hay sol (mi PC con un monitor consume 60W), ya cuando empieza a atardecer solo podemos utilizar los telefonos.

Podemos usar cosas como la licuadora que aunque consume 700W uno no la llega a usar ni 1 minuto, lo mismo con el secador de pelo mi madre, tenemos los ventiladores para dormir, las luces prendidas sin problemas.

Para los envios uso tealca, recientemente tuvieron una promocion de 15$ el pie cubico para envios maritimos (cada panel solar de los que tengo mide casi 1 pie cubico) y llega en 2 semanas.

>Yo pense en energizar la nevera pero a largo plazo creo que me gustaria mas energizar la computadora y otros electronicos para que no sufran los constantes bajones a los que estamos expuestos.

Una forma es que elimines un breaker de un circuito de tu casa y le dejes el inversor de forma permanente, la mejor forma es que instales un transfer switch en una caja de derivacion. Yo voy a usar este (ya hice unas pruebas rapidas y hace el cambio al inversor al instante sin que se apague el PC).

https://www.amazon.com/URBEST-JQX-12F-General-Purpose-Automatic/dp/B01LWXTHIX/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=DPDT+relay&qid=1557039436&s=gateway&sr=8-3

36x20x62 and qb 240 v2 with red

Getting one per driver, this is to help control the dim
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P8M7N9F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_GRGlDb10RKKAZ

This one the ups will plug into for the total grow draw. From the reviews it works best for monthly totals
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0777H8MS8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_OSGlDbH2XY0Y1

Here is the humidity control. Has setting for humidity and dehumidify. I used it for mushroom tents and works well
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076LMFRHG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_yUGlDbJWPZYC1

Something like this might be useful in determining how much power you need. Perhaps buy a mini-fridge that will use less electricity and transfer your food there in case of an outage.

Another idea is to freeze water bottles and water filled soda bottles to act as ice to help keep food cold in case of an outage.

check your motherboard manual, usually the b slots (2 and 4) are preferred for dual kits, although this shouldn't be the issue.

best way to check powerdraw is to get a meter like this one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Energenie-429-856UK-Power-Meter/dp/B003ELLGDC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1524946894&sr=8-4&keywords=watt+meter

You can get a watt meter like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Electricity-Analyzer-Monitoring-Equipment/dp/B07M8JKLG5/ and use it along with your electric bill to figure out how much of the charge is for the server.

The wattage meter just tells me how many watts I’m pulling I still adjust via the dimmer. So no, it’s not necessary at all just takes some of the guess work out of it.

This is what I have. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07DPJ3RGB?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I'm not an electrician but an EE, so an electrician can comment on the physical side of things- but from the spec side:

6000 W at 120V is 50 amps. You want to stay below 80% threshold so two 30A breakers would be 48 amps. It's a little over spec, and it wouldn't pass code here in WA but you'd "probably" be fine. However, if you're using 30 amp breakers you'll need 10 gauge wire, which is normally not run in 120V (it's usually 220). Typically you'd run 12/2 or 12/3 romex on 20 amp breakers. If you're running that much line, it's probably cheaper/easier to run a higher gauge (like 6 AWG) and put a subpanel in the room you can split out in 20 amp breakers. You'd have to just ask them price wise to spec it out both ways and see.

As for a "meter" you can definitely have an electrician install on (especially if you get a subpanel), but you're probably more looking for something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Electricity-Analyzer-Monitoring-Equipment/dp/B07M8JKLG5

That said (and a big "don't do any of this if you're not comfortable") it's really easy to run wire. The actual wiring at the panel/subpanel and the outlets can be a little trickier if you're not familiar, but running the wire itself is just "grunt" work. Make sure you secure it every 4ish feet, within 6 inches of the outlet, and put nail plates if it's within 1.25" of the outside edge of wood.

Edit: Assuming you have access to a crawlspace/can open walls. Running wire through closed walls/spaces fucking sucks and I don't wish it on anyone.

Something like this

Kuman Electricity Usage Monitor Plug Power Meter Energy Watt Voltage Amps Meter with Digital LCD Display,Overload Protection and 7 Display Modes for Energy Saving (NO-Backlight) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DPJ3RGB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_pgHKDbFSP9FM6

I haven't used it personally, so I cant personally vouch for it. But it seems to fit your wants.

Killawatt

For example
Poniie PN2000 Plug-in Kilowatt Electricity Usage Monitor Electrical Power Consumption Watt Meter Tester w/ Extension Cord https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0777H8MS8/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_FNxCDbWDCVFY8

I, personally, don't like "internet of things" doodads attached to my home's mechanicals. They're vulnerable to attack by botnets.

This one, in particular, is just a fancy Kill-A-Watt type device.

Is it something you really need or is it just a $300 gadget you kinda want because it looks cool?

Yeah I definitely don’t feel comfortable doing that. The closest I come to you is considering something like this. Would that have the same impact?
Home Energy Consumption Analyzer


I told my apartment complex maintenance guy if we can’t figure out what’s going on that I would like for them to have out an electrician to do an energy audit...but I don’t think I should be the one to have to pay for that. Then again I don’t know if I really have a leg to stand on to require them to do that.

Yes, there are a few devices designed to measure AC power usage which you could just put before the extension cord leaves your house, like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VX3PWJX/

This one has the 'data hold feature' as they call it... which means it won't lose it's shit if it loses power or you unplug it temporarily, so you can get a good idea for a week or so, or even season-long usage amounts. :)

I'd take readings on different days as far as how many KWh it used, make sure you get a wide range of different environmental temperature conditions in your data-set so we see how it's going to affect the power usage. :)

https://www.amazon.com/Poniie-PN2000-Electricity-Electrical-Consumption/dp/B0777H8MS8/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=killawatt+meter&qid=1572154034&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExRTY5VEkwUVdUSEdKJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjM2MTU4M1ZDNExYTjhBSEVVSSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzA0NDczNUxIVkI1UjZRTDU0JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Back in the day when I did that kind of stuff as part of my job, I would do runtime X2 and add a little more. Not exact, but a quick “rough number.”

This is a nice tool to see what your gear is doing in real time....
Poniie PN2000 Plug-in Kilowatt Electricity Usage Monitor Electrical Power Consumption Watt Meter Tester w/ Extension Cord https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0777H8MS8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_HZpJDb26YPW33

I read about the Sense (whole house monitoring) and some others, but ultimately I think the single-device is a better start.


I am kind of leaning towards this: https://www.amazon.com/Poniie-PN2000-Electricity-Electrical-Consumption/dp/B0777H8MS8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=kill-a-watt&qid=1564001055&s=hi&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1

Unsure. You can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0716WQW79

get a power meter that should measure power on individual things. There are quite a few, here is one.
https://www.amazon.com/Electricity-Consumption-Analyzer-Overload-Protection/dp/B0716WQW79

I'm more partial to P3's Kill-a-Watt but Amazon also has this thing for sale rn @ $15

It's the length from probe center to probe center and the cross sectional area of the probe plane perpendicular to the line. However, you have to take into account the curvature of the electrode tips and the fringe fields from the sides of the electric-fields. This is gets really complex to do by hand.

I highly recommend buying a TDMS meter. It will measure the conductivity and you just invert it for calculating resistivity. An engineer already had to go through the headache of making them accurate.


Edit: here's one I used for research in making solutions of similar conductivity to blood. Worked great.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016F5JWPM/ref=asc_df_B016F5JWPM5091127/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B016F5JWPM&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167139094796&hvpos=1o10&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5377375772090412437&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031119&hvtargid=pla-306436938471

Amazon has them in a 3-pack for $44.95 - https://smile.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-DSB09104-Energy-Microfiber/dp/B011540UAO

Also Gen1, but seem to work fine.

Not a bad price if you only want the pair of large current transformers either.

https://www.amazon.com/Makerfire%C2%AE-Precision-Power-Meter-Analyzer/dp/B00ORGDQOK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1469616814&sr=8-6&linkCode=ll1&tag=zvnfhlebcd-20&linkId=5b8da5b85a598344a041ede13ca8fc2e

Don't know what you are aiming for in a display, but this'll tell you the immediate and important stuff without breaking the bank.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=cycle+computer&linkCode=ll2&tag=zvnfhlebcd-20&linkId=6966060ba88cfbc032846f4de511a686

You can also use stuff like these for speed and total distance. A little math and you can figure things like watt hours per mile.

Personally I'd save up for the cycle analyst.

>double price than the motor itself

Are you accounting for shipping? Which company?

Just a standard home AC power meter.

I specifically use an Energenie

Have you ever plugged in a watt meter to see what your PC consumes over say a week? Something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Energenie-429-856UK-Power-Meter/dp/B003ELLGDC.

Kettles use a lot of electricity, but for a very short amount of time (unless you fill the kettle right up every time like an insane person).

At my day rate electricity of about £0.21 per kWh, it would cost about £0.63 if I left the kettle boiling constantly for an hour. It generally takes about 2 minutes to boil the kettle with enough water for two cups (minimum fill), so the cost of the kettle works out at between £0.01 and £0.02 per cup depending on whether I make one for just myself or use the extra water to make someone else a brew.

It's misleading to only look at how much power something consumes without paying attention to how long it's actually on for.

If you want more insight into how much electricity a specific appliance actually uses, these are alright. Set the time, set your electricity rate (it supports differential tarrifs [economy 7, 10, etc] too), then plug it in for a couple of hours/days/whatever and it'll tell you how much power it's used, how much it's cost so far.

It also shows some other stuff that most people probably won't find useful like how much current the appliance is drawing, voltage, frequency, and power factor.

What every one has said about profitability is correct - but personally I've only ever mined bitcoins for a bit of fun. Its a good learning exercise - and if your interested in Bitcoin its a good way to learn more about it.

Bottom line is with your setup, its never going to be profitable - so I wouldn't worry too much about the maths - it will only depress you!

To answer your Q's though -

1. Wattage - something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Energenie-ENER007-Power-Meter/dp/B003ELLGDC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395162471&sr=8-1&keywords=watt+meter
   
   
2. Google is your friend.
   
   
3. Check your electricity bill.

Having 2 surge protectors becomes slightly redundant, as when a surge hit all protectors will need to be replaced and does not add any aditional protection.

There are meter style surge protectors that you can buy and have your power company put on for you, call ahead and ask if they will install a home owner purchased one rather than their monthly fee based service.

https://www.amazon.com/Leviton-50240-MSA-Secondary-Arrestor-Protective/dp/B0019F6X3I