Track IoT Power Consumption with the ZS1100A Power Meter

Internet of Things (IoT) devices play a significant role in our lives, from powering our homes to running smart cities. Most of these devices run on small batteries, leading to high battery consumption. It’s also difficult to measure their energy usage. Some have tiny power draws, for example. Typically, you need to use various instruments to get an estimate. But these instruments are limited in what they can do. ZSCircuits has come up with a new solution with its ZS1100A Power Meter.

This new meter accurately tracks the current consumption versus time in great detail, which can be used along with the battery model to estimate the total battery life. ZS1100A works with a free IoT Power Profiler waveform analysis tool. Additionally, you have the option to export data to Sigrok/PulseView in Windows, Linux, and Mac OS for UART, SPI, I²C protocol analysis, as well as XML.

ZS1100A Power Meter specs include:

• Computer Interfacing: USB 2.0, Type-B connection
• Free GUI with waveform analysis tools (Windows-only for now)
• Battery emulation models for most popular batteries — selecting a model automatically sets output voltage, capacity, internal resistance, and max current
• Data can be exported to sigrok/PulseView for UART, SPI, I²C protocol analysis
• Data can be exported as ASCII in XML
• Excellent data compression rates — 24 hours of data takes ~10 GB
• I/O: Front-facing pins with standard (2.54 mm/.1") pitch in a 2x5 configuration
• Indicator screen
• Electromagnetic shielding
• ESD protection
• Thermal protection
• Operating temperature of 15-40°C
• Operating humidity < 90% RH
• Input voltage of 12-15 V DC
• Input amperage of 5A max

ZS1100A IoT power meter is currently available for $499 on Crowd Supply. The unit comes with a power supply, two banana-to-alligator clip cables, eight jumper wires for the front-facing I/O, a USB cable, a flash drive with software, and a quick start guide.