A Device for Monitoring Energy Consumption
At the risk of sounding like paid
advertising, here's a helpful gadget.
I've been concerned about energy conservation for a
long time--especially in recent years as the problem of global warming has
become more evident. If you want to reduce energy consumption, it helps to have
some idea how much energy is being used by various appliances and other
gadgets.
In some cases, it's pretty easy to understand how much energy gets used. If you leave a 60-watt light bulb on for an hour, it will use about 60 watt-hours of electricity. But what about your refrigerator? Because its compressor cycles on and off, its hard to know how much energy it consumes over a period of time. How much power does the TV use when it's "off" (actually on standby, waiting for a signal from the remote control)? And what about all those warm little AC adapters that power so many devices all over the house?
Some weeks ago I bought the device shown below to help answer some of those questions. It's a model P4400 "Kill A Watt" electricity usage monitor from P3 International. It's available from many sources, including Amazon, for about $20 to $25.
Using it is pretty simple. You plug it into an outlet, and plug the device you want to monitor into it. It immediately starts monitoring the energy used, and also keeps track of how long it has been connected.
The buttons under the display screen change the display mode, so you can see values such as voltage, current, power, and frequency as well as the energy used and how long it's been monitoring.
This gadget certainly has some limitations. It's strictly for 120 volt circuits, so it doesn't help with some of the biggest energy hogs that run on 220 volts. It also can do nothing for things that are permanently wired, such as most ceiling fans and light fixtures. You can use it on switched outlets, but its timer and total energy values will be reset when the power is shut off. The precision of its displays is limited, so it doesn't provide much information regarding things that use less than a few watts. Nevertheless, it's a helpful tool for checking a wide range of household devices.
Once I've gathered some more data, I'll report some of what I find. If you have an interest in some particular kind of appliance or other device, let me know, and I'll try to provide some information.
In some cases, it's pretty easy to understand how much energy gets used. If you leave a 60-watt light bulb on for an hour, it will use about 60 watt-hours of electricity. But what about your refrigerator? Because its compressor cycles on and off, its hard to know how much energy it consumes over a period of time. How much power does the TV use when it's "off" (actually on standby, waiting for a signal from the remote control)? And what about all those warm little AC adapters that power so many devices all over the house?
Some weeks ago I bought the device shown below to help answer some of those questions. It's a model P4400 "Kill A Watt" electricity usage monitor from P3 International. It's available from many sources, including Amazon, for about $20 to $25.
Using it is pretty simple. You plug it into an outlet, and plug the device you want to monitor into it. It immediately starts monitoring the energy used, and also keeps track of how long it has been connected.
The buttons under the display screen change the display mode, so you can see values such as voltage, current, power, and frequency as well as the energy used and how long it's been monitoring.
This gadget certainly has some limitations. It's strictly for 120 volt circuits, so it doesn't help with some of the biggest energy hogs that run on 220 volts. It also can do nothing for things that are permanently wired, such as most ceiling fans and light fixtures. You can use it on switched outlets, but its timer and total energy values will be reset when the power is shut off. The precision of its displays is limited, so it doesn't provide much information regarding things that use less than a few watts. Nevertheless, it's a helpful tool for checking a wide range of household devices.
Once I've gathered some more data, I'll report some of what I find. If you have an interest in some particular kind of appliance or other device, let me know, and I'll try to provide some information.
Posted: Wed - March 7, 2007 at 08:29 PM by email
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Published On: Mar 08, 2007 05:51 PM
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Published On: Mar 08, 2007 05:51 PM