No, it's referring to amperage. Assuming 240v mains and unity factor load, that represents 16.8 watts (about 17 quid a year running 24/7).
Answered above (worst case, assuming a reasonable accuracy of that Maplin energy monitor when on the amperage scale).
Why don't you experiment with the buttons until it shows wattage? There's usually three to five buttons (typically 3) one of which will be a Func(tion) button with a SET and a UP button (I'm looking at a Maplin Gadget Plug-In Electricity Cost Monitor, model N67FU). The Func button cycles through the various metering modes, V, A, W and KWH total since last reset.
The other two buttons are for programming the cost of electricity into the meter to allow it to convert the KWH figure into an electricity cost value. You can program two different rates, presumably to cover off peak economy tariffs.
The display on this meter shows Power Factor and other information but, going by my two examples, the display isn't the easiest to read. You might need a good pair of prescription reading glasses and a bright torch to angle the lighting for best viewing (the wattage label is in very fine print and right up against the top edge of the display window, RHS.
If you look closely at the plug side of the meter you might find a Maplin part number or an actual model number. You can try a google search for the Maplin pages selling electricity cost (or energy usage) monitor/meters and find a match. Here's a link to the N67FU meter page from where you can navigate to the other energy saving monitors.
I couldn't see a link to a user guide document, nor could I see the 'download' button mentioned in reponse to a customer's question about downloading the user guide (perhaps this requires a log in).
That's the UK version of the much regarded "Kill-A-Watt" meter sold in the US of A. It has 5 buttons and it's the middle one that toggles between VA and Watts.
BTW, some user guides for that meter claim the meter uses 20 watts (similarly for the US of A version where they claim 10 watts). The actual consumption of the meter itself is less than half a watt. the
20 or 10 figures are for the VA rating which is relatively high due to the use of a simple capacitor 'dropper' to provide the 5 or 10 volts used to power the electronics in the meter. I've only come across one source of technical specs for this meter where the correct half watt figure was quoted.
More like half, I did see you mention,
"Im getting readings of sixteen watts va, just now"
Unless the load is unity power factor (effectively resistive), the VA will always be higher than the true watts otherwise it's the same. IOW, that 16 VA may be a lower wattage than 16 VA reading. You can toggle the middle button to alternate between VA and Watts.
Running an electrical appliance on a 24/7 basis that only consumes 16 watts is only going to cost around 16 quid per year. It's worth remembering that most all PVRs and Sky boxes use 20 to 25 watts, often with little to no reduction in standby mode. The weekly cost is going to be about 30 pence. I wouldn't have thought there'd be any financial justification for terminating the use of the fan in the circumstances.
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