Hey guys, I was wondering if it would be possible to put the total power consumption of a given machine measured by the FabMan bridge into the activity log metadata after signing off? I think enabling a feature like that could provide valuable insight and allow pay-by usage with actual energy consumption.
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Hey Jan,
thanks for reaching out! Your idea of logging power consumption data in the activity log makes a lot of sense and could definitely add value, especially for tracking energy usage and implementing pay-by-usage billing.
At the moment, the power measurement available on the Fabman Bridge is apparent power (VA) rather than real power (W). The key difference is that VA includes both real power (which is actually consumed and billed by utility companies) and reactive power (which doesn’t contribute to actual energy usage but still affects the electrical load).
Since different types of machines have different power factors (which influence the gap between VA and W), the displayed power value might not match the actual energy consumption your electricity provider charges you for. This is why we’ve been cautious about exposing this data programmatically—we wanted to avoid confusion if the numbers don’t match customers’ expectations.
However, if you (and possibly other users) would find it useful, we could consider for future updates making this data available in the API and/or activity logs, with a clear note that it represents apparent power (VA), not real power (W). Would that work for you?
Looking forward to your thoughts!
Best,
Roland