This was posted 12 years 6 months 17 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Power-Mate Lite Energy Meter $44.95 (Was $149.00) Plus Shipping $9.95

133
Power-Mate Lite Energy Meter $44.95 (Was $149.00) Plus Shipping $9.95
Go to Deal
Lmeroveus on 06/06/2012 - 17:52 todae.com.au (1450 clicks)
Last edited 06/06/2012 - 18:36

"The Power-Mate Lite provides instantaneous and cumulative measures of power consumption, running costs and greenhouse gas emissions and forecasts these values going forward per hour, per week, per quarter and per year.

A simple menu allows the home owner to enter their own values as these vary by location and power supplier.

The Power-Mate Lite also provides technical measures such as supply voltage, current, power, VA and power factor."

The above blurb was quoted from the site.

POSTAGE is a flat rate of $9.95 Australia wide.

This meter is VERY ACCURATE compared to the cheaper meters, when measuring power consumed by devices when placed in standby.
Unlike the cheapies, it cannot be fooled by devices with strange power factors.

Unlike most other electronics items, these devices are made and designed in Australia.
Link to manufacturers site: http://www.power-mate.com.au/index.html
Link to FAQ: http://www.power-mate.com.au/faq.html

ADDED: Everything else on site is 30% off until 20th June.

Electrical & Electronics Power Meter

Related Stores

Todae
Todae

closed Comments

  • Bob81 on 06/06/2012 - 18:04

    Might be worth mentioning that pretty much everything else in the shop is 30% off too.

  • endotherm on 06/06/2012 - 18:09

    Plus shipping should be added to the title.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2012 - 18:10

    I got something like this from Aldi for $12 or $15 (can't remember) it seems to do most of these things. How is this better?

    • thefunkygibbon on 06/06/2012 - 18:29

      These are more acurate that the MS6115 type ones from Jaycar, ebay etc.

      An alternative to this is this one which i just bought (and now wishing I'd waited for this)
      http://steplight.com.au/education/monitor-energy/plug-in-ele…

      • AncientWisdom on 06/06/2012 - 22:22

        Yes I'm in the same position, I was considering the power mate but it was to much do I went with the steplight… This deal really got me thinking again…

    • meroveus on 06/06/2012 - 18:30

      I don't know for sure about the Aldi, but most cheap power meters are accurate for resistive loads only, for reactive loads they can be out by 5, 10 times or even more.
      If you are interested, this article talks about real power vs reactive power
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_power#Real.2C_reactive…

      • [Deactivated] on 06/06/2012 - 21:19

        Please explain for simple (non-electrical engineers.)

        Thanks! :)

        • thefunkygibbon on 06/06/2012 - 22:38

          I think it basically comes down to is if you're interested in knowing accurately what your device is using (especially for low wattage devices or those in standby) then use some like either Power-Mate Lite or the Clever Watt (the steplight website) if your just want to get a gauge as to what your PC is doing then the Jaycar ones are OK.

          That's my non-electrical engineer take on it.

        • Russ on 06/06/2012 - 23:25
          +4

          I'll try to explain simply. Resistive loads draw power throughout each cycle of the mains. Reactive loads are different. For part of each cycle they draw power, for another part they push power back into the mains!

          So if you have a reactive load which draws, say, 100 watts, it may be drawing 150 watts for part of the cycle, then pushing back 50 watts.

          Why is this important? Well, some power meters (including the ones owned by your electricity company and used for billing you) read incorrectly if your loads are reactive.

          There is also the problem of losses in wiring. The 100 watt reactive load will cause higher losses in the house wiring than a 100W resistive load. If you have a very large load which is very reactive, say 2400W, you can actually exceed the 16A rating of the average house wiring, and maybe cause a fire. A resistive 2400W load only draws 10A, well within the rating of the wiring.

          In the above "cycle" means each cycle of the 50Hz mains (50 cycles per second).

          This is a rough explanation and not exactly technically correct.

        • thefunkygibbon on 06/06/2012 - 23:48

          Cool, thanks for the explanation Russ. So the follow-on question for me for this is. How do you tell what is resistive and which is reactive?

        • endotherm on 07/06/2012 - 00:08

          I thought it didn't matter so much in a domestic situation, you are charged the same. In industrial situations they negotiate a different tariff depending on their power factor (dependent on what type of machinery they are using). Some dodgy types try to sell you a power-factor correcting box for domestic users to save money — sounds good in theory until you find out you are being charged on how many kw/h are supplied to your house, not how you use it.

        • endotherm on 07/06/2012 - 00:11

          I think loads like an incandescent light globe are resistive, they consume the same power per second regardless, whereas a motor is reactive — when it is starting up or working hard it is drawing more power, but when it is idling/free spinning it doesn't use as much.

        • Russ on 07/06/2012 - 13:33
          +1

          There are two types of reactive - inductive and capacitive.

          Anything which is primarily a motor (e.g. pool pump, fans, air conditioner) will be reactive in the inductive way. Anything which has a switchmode power supply (most comsumer electronics) will be reactive in the capacitive way, but many high-power items will have a built-in power-factor correction circuit.

          Linear fluorescent lights have a ballast, which makes them inductive (although electronic ballasts don't have the same effect). Such lights often have a largish capacitor in them (about the size of a 35mm film canister) to cancel out the reactive effect. Any inductive load, including motors, can have most or all of their inductive reactance cancelled by adding the appropriate amount of capacitance.

          The only loads in your house which will be purely resistive will be incandescent light bulbs and heating elements - everything else will have a degree of reactiveness.

          How reactive something is is measured by its "power factor", which goes from -0.5 to +0.5. Zero is pure resistive, -0.5 and +0.5 are pure reactive. Average all the loads in a house usually gives a power factor between -0.9 and +0.9, so the remaining reactivity is usually not worth cancelling out.

          For many businesses, e.g. a wood-working shop, they will be quite inductive, due to the large number of high-power motors. Such businesses often install a power-factor correction device (larger than a desktop PC and worth thousands of dollars), as the electricity companies DO measure the power factor and charge penalty rates depending on how bad the power factor is, as correctly identified by endotherm. Domestic situations don't normally get measured.

        • Russ on 08/06/2012 - 23:33
          +1

          Oops, I've just re-read what I wrote, and realized there are one or two poorly explained bits, and a bit I got wrong.

          Here's the re-write of the "power factor" bit. Power factor is a number between 0 and 1, where a pure resistive load has a power factor of 1, and a pure reactive load has a power factor of zero. Most loads actually have a power factor between 0.9 and 1, while some motors will have lower power factors of perhaps 0.6 to 0.8. If anything has a power factor below 0.5, something is probably wrong, it would be very unusual to have something that reactive.

          Adding to that, you have to say if the power factor is "leading" or "lagging", which tells you whether the reactiveness is due to capacitance or inductance. In some industries like power generation, this is indicated more simply by making the power factor be positive for capacitive "leading" loads, and negative for inductive "lagging" loads.

          So, with all the loads in an average house, some capacitive, some inductive and some resistive, the sum effect is that the power going into the house will usually have a power factor between 0.9 and 1. 0.9 is not bad, not much power is wasted due to the reactiveness, so no effort is put into correcting it to be exactly 1.

    • Hahuh on 06/06/2012 - 23:11

      I bought the belkin equivalent.

      So far I like it. Looks funky too

      http://www.scoopon.com.au/deals/12341/half-price-belkin-ener…

      • asa79 on 07/06/2012 - 07:33

        Belkin is same accurately as the cheap Bunnings, Aldi ones

        • Hahuh on 09/06/2012 - 22:17

          Yep. Not like I am running a benching station here.

          Its not like it is 200 Watts out of whack

  • techy on 06/06/2012 - 18:19

    shipping is $9.85
    Whirlpool comments are very favourable

  • meroveus on 06/06/2012 - 18:21
    +3

    Ok, changed the description guys.
    I'm a virgin at this, so keep the suggestions coming ;)

    • Steptoe on 06/06/2012 - 18:31
      +4

      No shortage of peeps here willing to pop your cherry.

      • Hintswen on 06/06/2012 - 20:43
        +2

        but only if it's a bargain.

  • turbodude on 06/06/2012 - 18:22

    I am interested to know if these are any more accurate than the cheapy ones like http://www.altronics.com.au/index.asp?area=item&id=P8133 and http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MS6115
    I have one of each and they give very different power figures. One reads 53Watts and the other 88Watts with one plugged into the other and then the N40L Microserver to test usage. At least one of them is not right.

    • asa79 on 07/06/2012 - 07:34

      Yes

    • vrsac on 07/06/2012 - 08:30

      On my N40L Microserver I've measured around 45-50W during normal operation. I used a Belkin power meter. I have 5 WD Green HDD's in my microserver and am running FreeNAS.
      I'd say that the one that reads 88W is inaccurate.

  • dan76n on 06/06/2012 - 19:31
    +1

    Probably a good deal but if your in Queensland make sure you check out the climateSmart home service as its $50 for an energy audit and a bunch of energy saving devices that are installed by an electrician.
    See http://www.climatesmarthome.com/what_you_get.html

  • Steptoe on 06/06/2012 - 19:46

    "Orders over $100 (not including bulk items) receive free shipping."

    Doesn't seem to appear at checkout though

  • gstfree on 06/06/2012 - 19:49

    Anyone has discount codes?

  • JetBombat on 06/06/2012 - 19:52
    +1

    Save $52.40 by renting one from your local library for $2.50

    E.g. for Sydney Hornsby library and branches:
    Is your electricity bill through the roof? Would you like to find out which of your appliances are using the most electricity?
    Hornsby Shire Council has more than fifty energy meters available to Hornsby Shire residents to loan for one week from any library.

    http://lib.councilsonline.com.au/hornsby/webquery.dll?v20=MarcList&v22=4&v24=4653837&v35={]0[}{]0[}{]0[}{]0[}&v40=592645&v46=592648

    • Hintswen on 06/06/2012 - 20:44
      +1

      is it $2.50 to rent it or $2.50 to reserve it?

      • djshitu on 06/06/2012 - 23:49

        I borrowed the same from Melbourne City Library a few weeks back. They are nice.

  • Bob81 on 06/06/2012 - 20:48
    +1

    I'm really after one that uses induction to clamp to the incoming cable from the power-line.

    Like this: http://www.todae.com.au/Cent-A-Meter-Power-and-Energy-Monito…

    Anybody know if they're accurate or if a cheaper/better model exists?

    • llama on 06/06/2012 - 21:09
      +1

      Clamp on units are pretty much useless because they don't allow for the Power Factor.

      Clamp ones just measure amps, but if Power Factor is less than unity (eg: a fridge, motor, transformer, computer or any other non-resistive load) then the reported figures will be miles out. For example, a domestic fridge has a Power Factor of about 0.5, so the reported "power" will be DOUBLE the real Wattage.

      Also, clamp ones can't measure voltage either. So they just take a guess on TWO of the three measurements required to measure Power Consumption.

      • Bob81 on 06/06/2012 - 22:27

        Thanks for the clarification Llama.

    • asa79 on 07/06/2012 - 07:36

      Different level of monitoring

  • Bob81 on 06/06/2012 - 22:27
    +1

    It's worth mentioning this is an Australian designed product at a great price!

  • Black Hole on 06/06/2012 - 23:00

    Support Australia and the Planet so I bought one.

  • eug on 06/06/2012 - 23:11

    Awesome, I was contemplating ordering one at full price but couldn't pull the trigger.
    At $54.65 though, DONE! Many thanks to the OP.

    • Steptoe on 07/06/2012 - 07:04

      Same. Was going to buy at around $120 from ata.org.au but this smashes that price.

      Shame the FREE Shipping doesn't work, as mentioned in the shipping tab.

  • GPAK on 07/06/2012 - 07:46
    +1

    very high quality meter

    i bought both it's big brother Power Mate and later the Power Mate Lite, definitely worth the original price!
    So at this discount, a bargain!

    • eug on 07/06/2012 - 11:45

      Is the Lite as accurate as the non-lite?

  • eug on 08/06/2012 - 12:25

    Argh, Todae just emailed saying they're out of stock of the PowerMate Lite!

    Hi there,

    I am writing to you let you that, unfortunately, we are currently out of stock of the Power-Mate Lite Energy Meter that you ordered.

    We can offer you an exchange on this item for the A+ Intelligent Power Meter – a great entry-level product, for which we will refund the difference. URL: http://www.todae.com.au/Power-Meter

    Let me know what you would like to do. Sorry for the inconvenience.

    To add to that, they added everyone's email address to the To: field. I wonder how many of them are OZBers.

    The A+ Intelligent meter is that awful cheapo one that has been around since the beginning.

    • Steptoe on 08/06/2012 - 12:39

      Request a Back-Order

      • eug on 08/06/2012 - 12:40

        Yeah I've replied to the email saying I'll wait for stock, hopefully they don't back away from the deal.
        Has anyone had theirs shipped out yet?

        edit: ahah someone named Ben Liu just hit Reply All to the email, saying he wants the Powermate Lite.

        • bchliu on 08/06/2012 - 13:21

          Yep. That was me and it was done deliberately to all others on the same email to stick together (why did he not BCC beats me)..

          The transaction has gone through and I believe they need to honour the sale.

          That A+ Meter is absolute dog's nuts and not worth the money it is.

          Very unhappy about this.

        • Steptoe on 08/06/2012 - 13:25

          They have admitted that they will be restocking the item, so wasn't a final clearance/end of line.

  • Muddy on 08/06/2012 - 14:56

    I received the same email, phoned Todae and spoke to the sender of the email. He advised that Todae is waiting on a delivery estimate from their supplier and will advise customers of a delivery date as soon as possible.

    I've looked at the supplier's website (ccisa.com.au), which shows their stock level as 281 units, so there should be little, if any, delay.

    I pointed out that Todae may have committed a breach under the privacy legislation. He was very apologetic about the CC, but had nothing else to say about it apart from that it will not happen again.

    • Steptoe on 08/06/2012 - 16:06

      So have you got a commitment that they will supply you the item?

    • bchliu on 08/06/2012 - 16:14

      Muddy: Can you resend your email to Peter Beringer as for some reason, you sent it to me instead (I am another customer making a public complaint as well)..

  • luojs on 08/06/2012 - 15:46

    I should vote a negative for this.. I just received this. Looks like they will not honor the deal. Doggy Buesiness.

    Again I sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.Unfortunately we had an internal error and our inventory management system didnot work meaning that a more units were sold than we had in stock. As we areunable to provide the product to you, we will refund you the full amount assoon as possible.

    As for the mistake regarding the group email – I’m terriblysorry. It happened in a ridiculous moment of absent-mindedness and I am fullyresponsible – file a complaint against me if you wish. I am prepared to facethe consequences for my actions which I deeply regret and am embarrassed by. Iwould be highly annoyed in your position too. Again, I’m sorry.

    Again I apologise for this inconvenience and wish you all thebest.

    Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questionsor concerns.

  • Black Hole on 08/06/2012 - 19:28

    I too received the letter today and was rather surprise as I have been issued an invoice with my order number two days ago.

  • turbodude on 10/06/2012 - 20:52

    Dodgy advertising as far as I am concerned to drive web traffic. I placed the order paid for it and they cancelled the order and distributed my email address to a bunch of people. Not happy.

  • eug on 12/06/2012 - 18:18

    Did anyone here receive one?

  • bchliu on 12/06/2012 - 21:27

    For those still looking at the thread - I rang them and they confirmed that they will NOT be honouring the deal apparently. I have asked for their owners/management to call me back but no response.

    Its ridiculous.. I'm going to wait another day or so.. call back before escalating it since they accepted the money and all.

    • luojs on 12/06/2012 - 22:36

      Don't waste your time on it any more. This is what I received from this disgusting company after ask for back order.

      "You can go on back order but only for the RRP, not the sale price, as per the terms of the sale.

      Sorry, there is nothing more I can do"

      Every one should revoke their vote.

      • AncientWisdom on 13/06/2012 - 12:12
        +1

        Vote revoked, and I wish there was a way for me to neg.

        • POWERevolution on 14/06/2012 - 19:42
          +1

          happy to -ve for you :)

        • AncientWisdom on 18/06/2012 - 23:46

          Cheers man! love the spirit of ozbargain!

  • Bodgy on 13/06/2012 - 22:13
    +1

    Like others I'm less than impressed with this company. Besides my purchase and payment being accepted for the Power-Mate, I also at the same time purchased a e2 efergy energy monitor, also on a 70% reduction. Surprise surprise, that also was out of stock. I have received the same, what appears to be generic replies from the company. Definitely deserves a neg vote.

  • strangern on 14/06/2012 - 15:50

    I received mine today, and was quite surprised given the comments above. I didn't receive the rejection email referred to above though so I must've ordered early enough I guess.

    • POWERevolution on 14/06/2012 - 19:47
      +1

      well done! 1st comment since 2010
      do i need to say more? :)

  • Black Hole on 17/06/2012 - 21:10

    Had anyone received their refund?

    • luojs on 17/06/2012 - 22:14

      submitted a paypal dispute. Then received refund second day.

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