MPGuino-style open source kill-a-watt meter?

Thalass · 05-22-09, 09:00 AM

Hey folks. I've been keeping an eye on the mpguino over at ecomodder for a while now. And i've been looking for something similar to the kill-a-watt power usage meter that's available in australia (and works on 240v). It occured to me tonight that it probably wouldn't be that great a leap from the arduino based mpguino to a watt-hour-guino-thingy. (wahuino?)

It's beyond me to design such a thing right now, though, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there. It would need to measure the voltage (between active and earth, and active and neutral to detect leakage) and current. And many, many times a second in order to get accurate figures. And I think calculating instantaneous watts, accumulated watt-hours, power factor, and also price if you can enter that into the machine.

I think the main thing I'd want is a computer interface - either usb or ethernet, which would up the price for sure but also could lighten the load on the arduino. The PC could do the crunching while the arduino just samples and sends. And you could log your figures.

Anyway, its asking alot I'm sure. But it's more of a wish than anything. I'm certain a basic version could be done for a reasonable price. And if they can do it with MPG in cars, why not kWh for homes?

05-22-09, 09:00 AM	#1
Thalass Lurking Renovator Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	MPGuino-style open source kill-a-watt meter? Hey folks. I've been keeping an eye on the mpguino over at ecomodder for a while now. And i've been looking for something similar to the kill-a-watt power usage meter that's available in australia (and works on 240v). It occured to me tonight that it probably wouldn't be that great a leap from the arduino based mpguino to a watt-hour-guino-thingy. (wahuino?) It's beyond me to design such a thing right now, though, but I thought I'd throw the idea out there. It would need to measure the voltage (between active and earth, and active and neutral to detect leakage) and current. And many, many times a second in order to get accurate figures. And I think calculating instantaneous watts, accumulated watt-hours, power factor, and also price if you can enter that into the machine. I think the main thing I'd want is a computer interface - either usb or ethernet, which would up the price for sure but also could lighten the load on the arduino. The PC could do the crunching while the arduino just samples and sends. And you could log your figures. Anyway, its asking alot I'm sure. But it's more of a wish than anything. I'm certain a basic version could be done for a reasonable price. And if they can do it with MPG in cars, why not kWh for homes?