Comments on: The MS6115 Power Meter

By: ALW

ALW — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 07:39:04 +0000

As MrT and Matt have said, this meter is highly inaccurate when power factor is not 1.

I’ve just acquired a device with a variable power adjustment and an ammeter. I checked the MS6115 against the ammeter and found severe inconsistency (both current and power reading a long way under). So I borrowed a friend’s Power-Mate. This reads consistently with the ammeter and power readings correlate proportionally, as they should.

I would therefore questions the usefulness of the MS6115 in evaluating many household loads …

By: William

William — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:30:02 +0000

Strong words Matt. Just because the SMPS has a sticker saying it’s rated for 450W/600VA maximum doesn’t mean it is drawing that much.
Actually this seems like a pretty informative little gadget. e.g. I can see that switching my LCD monitor from full brightness to economy drops the power consumption by from 38W to 20W.
BTW http://www.radioparts.com.au now sell them for $14.95.

By: Matt Lacey

Matt Lacey — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 20:21:44 +0000

The MS-6115 energy meter is by far the WORST meter i have ever come across.

It cannot handle loads backed by a switchmode powersupply. unfortunately switch mode power supplies are used in all computers, tvs, anything with the words “inverter” on it, etc.

if you try to use a MS-6115 with a SMPS load it will:
under read by a large amount (4 different ms6115 meters tried to tell me a 450W 600VA power supply was only drawing 90W with a PF of 1.0, despite 450W coming out the other end).

It will give you a power factor reading that is wrong (it only measures displacement power factor, not true power factor).

what ever you do, don’t buy a ms6115, its worse than rubbish.

By: Miss Power Meter

Miss Power Meter — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:19:54 +0000

The MS6115 seems to be an easy, cheap and effective way of learning about your appliances. Once you’ve gained knowledge about your energy usage, you could start using a meter that is a bit more advanced. It’s great for beginners and makes you conscious about your energy consumption.

By: Mr T

Mr T — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:22:53 +0000

These el cheapo meters are horribly inaccurate, we measured all sorts of bizarre readings with the ones we tested. They seem to have huge problems with anything with a power factor that isn’t 1, ie any device that isn’t a simple resistive load. Switchmode power supplies and any debvice that is electrically noisy are particular problems. Inaccuracies of up to 1000% (yes, 10 times the real value) were seen. In particular, they were very inaccurate at power values below 20 watts, so they are actually not much use for measuring phantom power loads.

We used to sell this meter and had dozens of returns, they are just crap, really. The Power Usage Meter is much more accurate, but the PowerMate range are by far the best…

By: dasman

dasman — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:47:48 +0000

Hi George,

Six dollars doesn’t sound like a lot, but:

– The savings that we’re talking about are easy, so why not? Flicking the power switch off on your washing machine isn’t that hard! After all, if you saw $6 in the street would you pick it up or say “it’s not worth the bother”. I’d certainly pick it up!
– Six dollars was the saving from changing my usage on one appliance. As I mention in other posts, I’ve found similar savings across a range of appliances. All up, it’s over $50 a year, every year. I’d rather have that $50 in my pocket than give it to the electricity company!
– for some readers, the incentive isn’t the dollars, but reducing their environmental impact. While some of these energy savings are tiny in a global context, if _everyone_ made similar savings it would really add up. It’s the same as voting in an election – one person’s vote doesn’t count for much on its own, but it adds up when enough people vote a particular way.

By: George

George — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:13:17 +0000

Guys have a life.. saving 6$ a year wow.. If u cant afford having a tv dont buy one…go back to the forest where no bills will get into ur mail

By: Muzzag50

Muzzag50 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 08:58:08 +0000

Just a little question which is not clear to me.

Over what period does the total price display ie adjusted per hour, per year, per day or just over the total on time sampled?

(BTW: City Software has these for $33)

Thanks

Murray

By: powermeter Morgane

powermeter Morgane — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:21:09 +0000

I use a Power Meter myself, and it is really helpful because it allows me to see how much energy my appliances use so I can reduce my energy bill.

By: LowImpact

LowImpact — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:20:05 +0000

Hi Bruce,

I’ve never bothered entering the cents into my MS6115 – I’m more interested in the power consumption, and tend to do the sums in my head to convert into actual money.

That said, it shouldn’t matter which one you choose. If you enter 23.4, then the cost will be displayed in cents – so a display of 250 will mean 250 cents or $2.50. Alternatively, if you enter 00.23, then the cost will be displayed in dollars – it should display 2.50 for $2.50.

I haven’t tried this – that’s just my guess.

Cheers

Dave