Date   : Fri, 10 Mar 2006 21:16:50 -0000
From   : "David Hunt" <dm.hunt@...>
Subject: Re: Them pesky case stickers (was 1MHZ SCSI/ATA board.)

> Can you get a widget that goes between an appliance and the wall socket
> to measure its power consumption?  I have a multimeter, but am reluctant
> to go around measuring 240V AC currents in series by sticking wires into
> sockets or similar!  And I'm not sure how much a little digital
> multimeter can handle in series like that?
> 
> Mostly for curiosity and energy economy reasons...
> 

You can buy them on eBay, e.g.
<http://cgi1.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7598455170>

Years ago, I had a few ex-Electricty Board meters that I used to measure
usage at the farm. I picked them up for next to nothing at an auction, plus
a huge box of ammeters, phase meters and voltmeters.

Electricity and gas are going up in price again, so it's probably worth
investing in something like this myself. The item that consumes the most
power, I reckon, is the fridge-freezer. Then closely followed by the
dehumidifier, PC (HAL - especially when playing games), TV etc...

Dave ;)