jebatty
Minister of Fire
Great post. I ordered two combination volt/current meters off *Bay, one for each leg on the main panel. Always wondered how evenly balanced my loads are.
100 - 200 Amp service upgrade - Box in new circuit panel?
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jebatty
Minister of Fire
Finally got the meters installed. I needed to have an electrician do the main disconnect at the meter and install the current transformer (CT) coils around the L1 and L2 mains. The fit was tight, but the coils made it over the 200 amp mains. In the pictures you can see the orange CT on the mains and then the meters off to the left. Will be interesting to follow as we use power in the house to see how balanced our loads are. I think the only concern would be if one main was severely out of balance with the other main.
Excellent! The wires going to the meters are low current by using the CTs. My electrician put them in pipe for the local codes but that may be overkill. I see the 120 VAC on the meters but is there a current draw! I cannot see it.
Also are you going to put a switch in turn off the meters display to save electricity and have the meter's display last longer?
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jebatty
Minister of Fire
The CT wires are probably 20 or 22 gauge, very thin. The 120VAC power leads on the meters likely also are 20 gauge. Current draw is very small for the two LED meters. A switch is a good idea and would be easy to add.
The meters have a current draw but I doubt that draw would even register on the meters. The draw on the mains from active electrical circuits in the house do not show up with the camera flash. I'll try another picture without a flash and see if the meter displays show.
The panel looks scary but really isn't. Much of the wiring is to/from a 10 circuit generator transfer switch not shown, so lots of extra wires.
The meters have a current draw but I doubt that draw would even register on the meters. The draw on the mains from active electrical circuits in the house do not show up with the camera flash. I'll try another picture without a flash and see if the meter displays show.
The panel looks scary but really isn't. Much of the wiring is to/from a 10 circuit generator transfer switch not shown, so lots of extra wires.
jebatty
Minister of Fire
A better picture of the meter display, along with the wall cabinet that houses the 200A main panel, an additional 100A panel for electric baseboard and hot water heating circuits, 30A generator transfer switch, and telephone/DSL entry box.
jebatty
Minister of Fire
Last night, when everything was "off," no fridge or freezer compressor running, computer/entertainment center shut down completely, but other electric things remaining plugged in and "off" by their own switches, and the phone/DSL remained "on," the meters showed 0.2-0.3 amps draw on each main. That's equivalent to about 35x2=70 watts still being consumed. If that is my minimum watt draw without unplugging everything, annual minimum electric usage would be 70x24x365=61.3 kwh, and at my current electric rate that amounts to about $7/yr, or about $0.60/mo.
In another context, 61 kwh is about the average daily production of my solar PV system during June - August.
In another context, 61 kwh is about the average daily production of my solar PV system during June - August.
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