# Best Way To Measure Your System's Power Consumption



## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

This question popped up in a PM, now do you accurately measure your system's power consumption? I answered the best I could, which is copy/pasted below. There are probably other approaches...

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Power use is hard to measure, you have to get in series with the current flow to be accurate. I have a little Kill A Watt meter ($30??) that you plug into an outlet then plug your equipment into it and it gives Amps, Volt-Amps, and Watts used, but that is on an outlet by outlet basis. You can use it to measure each outlet's consumption and add them up and get an accurate result, it is just a bit tedious. OTOH, that way you know each component's contribution. I'm sure there are circuit- and service-level consumption meters, but an electrician has to install one of those. There are clamp-on current meters that work without electrical contact, but that takes a) access to the individual hot wire (not the hot + return cable, the hot conductor alone - where do you get access to that?) and b) you don't know volt/amp phase relationship, so can be off quite a bit when calculating power from it. The Kill A Watt measurement approach is the best I can think of.
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Any other suggestions?


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

That looks like an easy way to measure it Wayne. My APC S15 measures current draw in watts (in one of its menus), but when I tried to see what the draw was during normal levels, it seems that "<50 watts" is the lowest value it will display. Above that though, it gives watt by watt draw for the whole system. The most I have seen is 750 watts (that was way louder than enjoyable & with my PB-13U as well).


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## WooferHound (Dec 8, 2010)

I would use the Kill-o-watt meter
$21 and very accurate. 
gives you much more that just the wattage
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882715001
It's $2 off w/ promo code EMCWXWX87, ends 10/16/2013
useful for more than your theater system


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

Right, didn't think of a UPS, mainly because mine doesn't have a display, but many do. Thanks, Quenten.


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

WooferHound said:


> I would use the Kill-o-watt meter
> $21 and very accurate
> gives you much more that just the wattage
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882715001
> useful for much more that your theater system


Thanks, that is even cheaper than I remembered.:T


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Some power conditioners have voltage and amperage read outs on them like the Eathereal 1000 units that I have. For $69 they are a great deal.


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## Ares (Nov 23, 2009)

Kill-a-watt is the best approach if you are trying to keep cost down and just need a reading, now if they need the PC, surge, voltage and amp, line filter etc they would need to look into something from TrippLite, Panamax, APC or Furman.


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