Looking for power metering equipment...

Mailman List Mirror (Read Only)
1

Speaking on Deep Background, the Press Secretary whispered:

Question: We are looking for something that sits in the PDUs or branch
circuit-breaker distribution load centers, that, on a branch-circuit by
branch-circuit basis, can monitor amperage, and be queried by SNMP.

Considering there are several hundreds of circuits to be monitored, cheap
and featureless (all we need is amperage via SNMP) is fine.

You really want wattage. The power factor of switched supplies
is far from unity.

Take a look at <http://www.quadlogic.com/transmeter1.html>

Also, recall you sell each watt twice -- once to heat up
a chassis, and a 2nd time for the HVAC to cool it.

2

Concur with you need wattage not amperage. There is a 'relatively' cheap
method of doing this however local electrical codes may put a damper on
this type of project.

You put a current transformer on each branch circuit. A 'typical' current
transformer will generate 1Millivolt per Milliampere. You then install a
A/D board in a PC and write a simple application to query each channel of
the A/D. or purchase a commercially available SMNP datalogger.

                            Scott C. McGrath