DIYbanter - View Single Post - Estimating KWh electicity billing using clamp-on amp meter

mike[_22_]

On 7/23/2018 7:13 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 23 Jul 2018 17:47:02 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

snipped ****ing contest...

I'd be interested in learning how to estimate electricity
billing using a clamp-on amp meter.

Exactly where do you clamp it?

Clamp meters measure "something" and calculate displayed
current based on varying assumptions which may not be
specified and may be only
loosely related to what the utility bills for.

My house doesn't have exposed single conductors in
a space big enough to get a clamp meter.

FWIW, I use a Blue Line unit that reads the blinking
LED on the power meter.
That should be EXACTLY what they're billing for.

If you only need average readings, just read the
numbers off the utility meter.

You can also do some fun things with a Palm III that
reads the blinking light and graphs it over time.

Would be interesting to learn how to do it with a
garden-variety clamp meter with unknown transfer
function for loads with non-unity power factor and two load
branches with different loads.