Usage meters

How can I monitor how much energy a piece of equipment is using?

If you want to know how much energy a particular piece of equipment is using, try fitting a Brennenstuhl wattage and current meter. The meters cost less than £20 to buy and will give you a readout of electricity consumption and running costs for equipment plugged into them. The meters are only suitable for equipment plugged into a 13 amp socket, but can enable you to quickly demonstrate to colleagues how much they are wasting by leaving equipment switched on overnight.

We've also recently tested an SPC mini Energy Profile logger from Elcomponents which, at approximately £250, is significantly more expensive than the Brennenstuhl unit, but does enable you to plot energy usage at regular intervals (say every 15 minutes) over a period of days, weeks or even months.

If you need any assistance obtaining this type of equipment please contact Jenny Smith on 01952 825 820.