In the images on the previous page we saw the various buttons featured on the Power Angel. The list below summarizes the function of each button based on the way it is labeled and what it displays...
Power Measurement 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.
Not sure how buttons were designated for dual function or color coding, but V and A each have their own blue button, W and VA share a blue button, HZ and PF share an orange button, and KWH and Hr share an orange button as well.
All of the functions are similar to what one might find on a typical digital multimeter, except on the Power Angel, the use has been simplified and targeted for use with 110V devices.
Operation:
The Power Angel could not be easier to use... Plug it into an outlet, and plug a device to be monitored into it. One issue I did encounter was that size and shape of the Power Angel made it impossible to use in an outlet or surge protector if anything was plugged into an adjacent outlet. The housing of the Power Angel is not small enough to avoid interfering with anything next to, above, or below it in that situation. As pictured below, I resorted to using it on the end of a heavy duty extension cord...
The image above also gives a good look at just how easy the large LCD panel is to read. The numbers are large and clear, and in the upper right corner is an indication of exactly what parameter is being viewed.
As I made myself familiar with the device, I noted one quirk to its otherwise smooth functioning. On occasion I would push any function button, no specific one necessarily, and a different function's data would be displayed. For example... While displaying Hz, I would press V, but be presented with W. Pressing V a second time would remedy the situation, but this could lead to confusion by users that didn't notice the error.
Testing:
To test the Seasonic Power Angel I decided to apply it a few different situations. First, I monitored 3 very different computers while at idle and load conditions and I recorded the data. Next, I used a special device provided by Seasonic (but not sold with the Power Angel) called the "Loader" which can simulate a load on any ATX power supply, and recorded that data. Then, the Power Angel was used to monitor power usage on three household appliances. Finally, one appliance (an air conditioner), was allowed to run for extended period of time while connected to the Power Angel to see how the peak wattage compared to the KWH information recorded as the devices thermostat cycled it on and off.
The computers used for testing have basic specifications as provided below:
• "Mini-ITX 60W": VIA EPIA M10000 motherboard, 1 CDROM, 1 laptop HDD, 1 60mm case fan, Morex case with 60W PSU
• "mATX 200W": mATX P4 motherboard, 2.66GHz Celeron D CPU, 1 HDD, 2 60mm case fans, 1 80mm case fan, 12V water cooler, 200W Seasonic Super Versatile PSU
• "ATX 500W": ATX P4 motherboard, 2.6GHz P4 CPU, 2 SATA HDD, 2 120mm case fans, 12V water cooler, 500W Allied PSU.
As you can see, three significantly different systems, with a wide range of power supplies driving them. The first step was to connect each system to the Power Angel (monitor not included), and record the idle conditions, as seen in the table below.
Taking a look at the data above shows that no system came close to using its maximum rated power (per the PSU manufacturer's published specs). In addition, it can be seen that the PF values are all quite low on these systems. This means that to generalize the three systems, almost 1/2 of the AC power that comes into the power supply is lost, and never converted to DC for use by the system. Other power supplies we have reviewed more recently (including some from Seasonic) emphasize their active PFC features, with should provide PF values closer to 1. Basically, a PF of 1.0 means all the AC power coming in is converted to usable DC power and not lost to heat! I will definitely be using the Power Angel in future reviews to investigate that in particular.
The table below shows the results obtained for W and VA on the same systems while at idle and then under a heavy load. A load was achieved by running Folding@Home as well as the Burn-In Wizard of SiSoft Sandra 2004 Pro.
What a difference a load makes to the power consumption on each system! For either the mATX 200W and ATX 500W system, there is still plenty of power left to be comfortable operating under these conditions, but the same can not be said for the Mini-ITX 60W system. The W figure provides the actual AC power being drawn by the PSU, and the VA figure is the product of VxA. The 48W shown is getting pretty close to the 60W rating of the power supply! Hopefully there is a bit of a fudge factor in that published value, or adding more drives or fans might max this system out!
The next round of testing involved using the Seasonic supplied "Loader". This device looks like a power supply, but when connected to a power supply's 20-pin ATX connection and (2) 4-pin Molex connectors it will provide a full load to simulate what a system might provide. I hooked the Loader to another 200W power supply on hand, and in turn connected that to the Power Angel.
I'll admit I was skeptical as to what this little box was going to do, but once powered up, I was surprised and just how much it did load this PSU! The power supply rated for 200W provided readings for W between 200-202, meaning it was maxed out just past its published limits! V was 122, A was 2.67, VA was recorded as 324, Hz was 59.9, and PF was 0.61. I guess the Loader earned its name. And again, I'll be sure to keep this little extra on hand for use with the Power Angel on future reviews.
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