Power Conditioner consuming 2kW without load
 

I have been using a Megawatt PC-4 Evo power conditioner for some years. This was the upgrade to my system with the biggest effect ever, by the way!

Now that I moved to sunny South Africa I noticed that I was using much more power than I would have expected. So today we installed some measurement devices to watch the total power consumption of the house and switched of all consumers in the circuit breaker board. By switching one breaker on after the other we could see, how much power was consumed by all those fancy devices ...

I was shocked when I saw that my power conditioner consumed over 2000 Watts although the consumers where all in stand by mode. I switched off the consumers and the power conditioner still drew 2000 Watts!

Did anybody experienced something like this before or has an explanation what could be causing this? I notified the manufacturer but have not received a reply so far.

Best regards,
Ecki

Ecki.......Are you speaking of the Gigawatt PC-4 Evo?


http://www.normanaudio.com/wp-conten...4-EVO-03-1.jpg

Yes, this is the one - although mine is black with blue LEDs.

Is it getting really hot? The reason why I ask is that if it is really drawing 2000 watts from the wall with no devices connected to it, it would be dissipating all that power internally. Even with a fan it would get really really hot.

Are you sure that's right? If that power conditioner is really drawing 2000w at idle, that means at your 220/240v it is drawing more than half of the maximum of 16 amps according to the specs in idle mode alone. What would be the point of that when the overhead reserve would be next to nothing when fully loaded down by the rest of the audio gear?

I am not sure that it is right. There is no heat. My instincts too tell me something is wrong.

But ...

If I look at my smartmeter and the measurement equipment, they both show more or less the same power consumption (solar power on off). When I switch off the power conditioner I see the power consumption going down by 2 kW.

It may be wrong and my power conditioner does not eat that load. But as the smartmeter shows it, I pay for it! Ä

Best
Ecki

Ecki.......Are you certain your smart meter isn't displaying KWH (kilowatt hours)?

That 2000 watts of power has to be dissipated somehow. At your 230V in South Africa, you are drawing 8.69 amps into the unit then. That's a whole lot of heat. Imagine 20 100w bulbs being lit at the same time inside that box and imagine the heat that would create. Something doesn't sound right. :no: You can measure the current through the power cord that is feeding the Megawatt unit and that will answer your question.

You can get an inexpensive clamp on meter like this https://www.amazon.com/Meterk-Multim...nt+meter&psc=1

Serge,

I am fully with you. Your arguments were exactly what I have been saying today. I had an electricity bill that is outrageous. I am using here the same equipment I used in Berlin. I even have the mother of all photovoltaics on my roof now and here in South Africa, we have a lot of sun. And even without solar, the cost for electricity is much lower than in Berlin. So I was wondering why do I have an electricity bill like a small hotel? When I received the last bill, after I installed my equipment brought from Berlin, the bill skyrocket. That's is why I insisted on measuring. Of course the technicians from the City of Cape Town watched the smartmeter, showing zero consumption if all the breakers are off and 2000 Watts if the power conditioner is on. Home they go. The company that did my electrical installation here were using a device like the one you have shown on my incoming power (a bit more sophisticated and expensive, but the same principle).

Everything off = 0 consumption.
Power conditioner on with switched off consumers = 2000 W.

I will measure tomorrow the power coming to my Megawatt PC4 Evo. Let's presume it shows not 2000 Watts. What could be the reason?

Best regards
Ecki

Check to make sure no one is stealing your power... :smoking:

I honestly can not imagine a power conditioner drawing 2kw. :no: Your Germany to S.Africa move should not matter. 230V 50Hz for both places, correct?

Which leaves us with the possibility there is something going on inside the power conditioner from the move? Could it have shorted? In that case it would probably trip the breaker all together. Could it be another problem with the unit? Hard to say but possible I guess. :scratch2: