Kill-a-watt with battery?

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,587
10,225
126
Just wondering if perhaps anyone makes a cheap kill-a-watt type device with a built-in battery. Not for the AC, but for remembering the settings, like an alarm clock.

I would like to put a meter on a computer at a friend's house, and see how many kilowatts it takes over the month. I've heard that the higher-end KAW devices can do this, but I also heard that if the power goes out, the data gets cleared. I want a device that retains this data, even during blackouts.
 

Emulex

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2001
9,759
1
71
pretty accurate at 110v; within 10% watts of what the server thinks its using. fun device. i use it to watch charge cycles on phones/laptops/roomba to make sure things are working right. roomba/scooba is notorious for freaking out and not charging. unplug it and plug it back in and it ramps way up properly then tapers down.
 

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
not very accurate with APFC

Wouldn't APFC make it more accurate? I can't imagine a cheap $20 meter doing much more than measuring current and voltage then multiplying the numbers. With power factor corrected to >0.9, this is pretty darn accurate.