02-16-2018, 02:50 AM
lost in space wrote:
[quote=Winston]
I assume this applies to a Kill-A-Watt. So if you want to measure a small transformer's standby energy use, put a known wattage device like a light bulb on the same circuit, then measure the difference between what the bulb uses and what the Kill-A-Watt shows.
The LBL site also has some interesting charts on standby electrical use by different devices:
http://standby.lbl.gov/summary-chart.html
Good luck.
- Winston
That method could be useful, but only if the error was constant over a range of low wattages. More accurate would be to check wattage with a known higher load and the device together, then compare that with just the known higher load. The difference between the two would be wattage for the device. Possibly not dead accurate, but I'd have more faith in this method. My .02.
That makes sense. I assume that, for example, there are variances in what a "100 W" bulb draws. Testing a specific bulb, and then that bulb with the low-wattage device would give you the difference.
- W