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Seasonic Power Angel Power Monitor Tester |
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Intro
IntroFirst off, I'd like to welcome Computer Gate to PimpRig's growing list of sponsors. From Richard NG, "Computer Gate is a Direct Marketer of Technology Products and Accessories that was founded in 1991. We offer the widest selection of unique products, great services and competitive prices." Thanks to Richard and Computer Gate we have a little something different to look at today, Seasonic's Power Angel Power Monitor Tester.
Seasonic, as you may already know, manufactures a wide variety of power supplies for both OEM and end user markets. Seasonic has been building power supplies since the Apple II and the first IBM PC circa 1980. What you may not know is Seasonic was originally incorporated in 1975 to build electronics test equipment. It's not surprising they came up with a gizmo so uniquely suited for computer power diagnostics.
Power Monitor Tester?
So, what exactly IS a Power Monitor Tester? Quite simply, it's a multi-meter designed specifically to monitor and measure electricity usage in atypical 120V electrical/electronic appliances. In other words, Seasonic's words to be exact, "Identify power-wasting appliances. Forecast electrical expenses."From Seasonic's web site here is a list of the Power Angels functions:
| Features | Item | Explanation |
| V | AC Voltage | The actual voltage at the AC outlet. |
| A | Amperes | The current drawn by the device measured. |
| W | Watts | The power consumed. |
| VA | VA | The volt-amperes consumed. |
| Hz | Hertz | The frequency of the AC voltage. |
| PF | Power Factor | A measure of the device's environmental friendliness. |
| KWH | Kilowatt Hour | Power consumption over time as measured by your utility. |
| Hr | Hour | The total expired time. |
It's obviously not a replacement for the traditional multi-meter. There is no provision for measuring DC current or resistance (ohms). But with a total power handling capacity of 1875 watts and a better than 2% accuracy across the board, it is perfectly suited for its intended function.
The documentation is scant, but it's really all you need. Operating the Power Angel couldn't be simpler. You just plug the Power Angel between the device you wish to monitor and the wall socket. Left to right, pushing the buttons reveals voltage, amperage, watts, frequency and kilowatt hours. The three buttons on the right have a second function. Another tap and you have VA (power consumption), power factor (efficiency), and a timer.
The one area that could have used a bit more explanation is power factor measurement. I'll demonstrate why in a moment. But anyone bright enough to know what all the above functions are for, probably already knows not all electric devices have PFC (power factor correction) circuitry.
Testing
Let's start with something that is not only easy to test, but can readily verified for accuracy. Here we have two standard off-the-shelf light bulbs. The first is a standard 60 watt incandescent bulb, the second a compact fluorescent 60 watt equivalent bulb.
| GE Soft White Incandescent | GE Soft White Helical | |
| Light Output | 675 Lumens | 950 Lumens |
| Energy Used | 60 Watts | 15 Watts |
| Life | 1000 | 8000 |
| Cost | 'bout a buck a piece | $5 each in a multi-pack |
According to GE, based on a cost of 10 cents per kilowatt hour, that's a savings of $36 dollars over the lifetime of a fluorescent vs. a standard bulb. If you do the math yourself you'll find that a rather conservative estimate. But we are testing a power tester here not a light bulb, so let's continue.
