So i have been running my Unraid box for about a week now its been on all week no downtime with a Kill a-watt installed on it to measure how much is this box actually pulling.

 

However i finally got new batteries for an APC back-ups xs 1500 i had laying around.

 

Kill-a watt said 45W at idle

APC UPS says 20W load at idle.

 

 

ASROCK FM285x-itx

AMD a4 5300

Seasonic SSR-360GP

 

Who to blame? Will the meter on the UPS read different if the battery was fully charged?

 

Thanks

I'd trust the Kill-A-Watt more than the UPS, it's made specifically for measuring power consumption.  45W idle sounds about right for your CPU/mobo combo anyway.

Where is the kill-a-watt?

 

At the wall? This is higher than UPS load.

Between the server and UPS? This is what the UPS is trying to measure.

 

The neither is very accurate, but the kill-a-watt is probably better.

+1

I'd definitely trust the meter more than the UPS.

 

BTW:...what side of the connection is your kill-a-watt installed?

 

I'd install it directly to the power-outlet, then the UPS with your equipment attached to that.

When the batteries get charged you will see a higher load of course but also you will measure the real total consumption as the UPS will also add some watts at idle.

 

 

Assuming you have the UPS plugged in to the Kill-a-Watt, the Kill-a-Watt is measuring BOTH the current draw of the UPS unit itself AND the draw of your system.

 

In addition, are you sure you've got the Kill-a-Watt set to display watts (Not VA) ?

 

But to answer your question:  I'd definitely trust the Kill-a-Watt for the more accurate readings.