Tell me more ×
Raspberry Pi Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for users and developers of hardware and software for Raspberry Pi. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite

Is it possible to measure (with software, like powertop) the current power consumption on my Raspberry Pi?

share|improve this question

2 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

No. You cannot accurately measure the power consumption of your Raspberry Pi by just software. There needs to be some hardware in place in order to do this and devices rarely have this by default.

The easiest option would be to use a wall outlet power meter or usage monitor. You can buy these for $10-$20 at a local store.

Without such hardware, the best you can get are estimations.

share|improve this answer
i have outlet power meter, but i'm too lazy :D...and for devices with intel cpu i can use powertop. So my idea was to use something like powertop, but for arm ;) – cupakob Oct 8 '12 at 18:23
3  
PowerTOP gives you an estimation, not a real measurement. The estimations are intended for comparison when you want to try different power saving features out. For laptops PowerTOP can make better estimations by doing measurements on your battery level and performing calculations. That is something you cannot do on a PC or Raspberry Pi. Read more about it here. – Derecho Oct 8 '12 at 21:05
up vote 2 down vote

Multimeter in series with a bench top power supply. Or by looking at the bench power supply itself if it has an Amp meter.

Measuring the whole thing (with power supply) won't give you an accurate reading of the Raspberry pi's actual usage since you will also be measuring inefficiencies in the power supply you use.

share|improve this answer
1  
Measuring with the power supply would however be an accurate representation of the costs associated with the usage. It depends on the goal whether you want to measure before or after the power supply. – Derecho Dec 6 '12 at 8:05

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.