Details on the Digital Ammeters and Power Meters 

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The new Olson Power Meter compliments the existing ammeters in the Olson Meter Range. It is physically the same size as the ammeter, so can be fitted into any Olson power distribution unit with an ammeter.

The key features of both meters are listed below.

Ammeter

• All units use a 32A rated meter
• For many applications the most common measurement needed to be displayed is amps.
• Therefore the Ammeter is superior to the Power Meter when you need to continuously monitor amps - the Power Meter only displays amps ¼ of the time and critical measurements can be missed
• Also with the Ammeter there is no confusion of what is being viewed, it is always amps!
• The Ammeter is slightly brighter and is easier to view under office level lighting

Digital Power Meter

• The Power Meter displays four critical power measurements, Power Factor, Amps, Volts and Watts in a continuous cycle
• Each value is displayed for approximately four seconds before it automatically displays the next value
• The arrow that lines up with the decimal point indicates which value is being displayed. On the above animated display the values are:
  0.98 Power Factor (98%)
  8.57 Amps
  241.8 Volts
  2046 Watts
• If the above animated display does not cycle through the four values ensure that "animated gif" is enabled in the web browser

What is Power Factor?

• Any equipment with a reactive load (ie capacitive or inductive) such as PC power supplies, telecommunication equipment etc, has some energy storage resulting in a time difference between the current and voltage waveforms.
• This stored energy returns to the mains source and is not available to do work at the load.
• The apparent power is volts x amps and is measured in VA or KVA.
• The real power of the load is volts x amps x power factor
• Therefore power factor is a value between 1 and 0 (or 100% and 0%) that shows the ratio between apparent power and actual power
• Purely resistive loads have a power factor of 1.0 and use 100% of the power
• A typical value for a modern power supply used in a PC or telecommunication equipment is somewhere between 0.9 and 0.7
• Any value less than 1.0 means you are paying for electrical power you are not using.
• In some buildings, there is power factor correction equipment fitted at the mains distribution cabinet. In this instance, equipment with a poor power factor is not such a problem.

Contact Olson Electronics for price and availability on all products. Olson Electronics reserve the right to change the specification on any product without prior notice. E&OE.

Copyright © Olson Electronics Ltd.    Last update  13 November 2008