Power tariffs in India are still on a higher side and do demand a certain attention from the owner's end so that their power bills do not skyrocket ! With processing power of CPUs on the rise alongside the need of more and more IT gadgets like projectors, LCDs, Wi-Fi routers, Firewalls, Network Switches etc etc , which are switched ON 24x7, it is a good idea to have a first hand idea of their power consumption as well.
Lets quickly run through why a Small & Medium Enterprise would bother about Energy consumption and energy conservation by IT hardware / gadgets:
1. SME office spaces in India may not be as spread out and well planned. All IT Gadgets generate heat which is directly proportional to the energy consumed. Hence measuring energy consumption will give a good idea of heat generation.
2. Heat Generation directly impacts Air-Conditioning power consumption and sometimes excessive heat in small closets / under table areas may also become a cause of fire.
3. As the devices are running 24x7,. they need a power backup in the form of an Inverter or an Online-UPS. Both these battery powered devices itself increase energy bills. A single 1 KW inverter or online UPS can increase electric bills by INR 2000-3000 / - which may be a significant amount for small or startup spaces.
Now lets look at how we can measure the energy consumption. This device manufactured by MECO Instruments goes by the name of PowerGuard. It comes in different models (PG07 to PG09) depending upon the power rating. Check out the latest product that is available online to suit your needs. It costs about 2000 - 3000 INR but is an excellent investment I would say even for SME offices. Just plug it in to any socket and put your device's power plug in the socket provided in this meter. Viola! It will display all the essential electrical parameters like Watts, PF (power factor), Volts and Amperes.
It would be a great idea to verify using this meter, the wattage mentioned on the adapters, chargers, DC-DC converters and their actual consumption values. Usually there is not much of a difference (if using standard power supplies) but if you happen to use some low-quality / cheap stuff - you would be surprised to know how hot these chargers/adapters can get and how much energy they waste!
For professional serivces and consulting in IT for SMEs the author can be contacted at akbar at octavesbm dot in