It may look like a bulky, flat device, but the Kill-a-Watt Electricity Usage Monitor may be the best investment you can make to help reduce electricity usage in your home from all those other gadgets you have plugged in.
The Kill-a-Watt plugs into any three-prong wall outlet and automatically charges up. To set up simply enter your kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate found on any copy of your last electric bill. Usually this number is around the 10 cent mark (Beware though, your rates can change from month to month, so be sure you have the most recent bill with you). To start measuring the cost of your excess energy use hold down the Reset button until “rESt” appears on the LCD display. Next, press Set until the words “Rate” appear on the display. Now using the Up and Down buttons you can enter your own kWh rate.
Now your Kill-a-Watt is ready to measure the energy usage of any device in your home, just plug it into the Kill-a-Watt socket. In addition to telling you how much excess energy your appliance is using over days, weeks, or months, you can also find out the specifications of your device including VA, Hz and Watts.
But to discover just how much your electronics are costing you, leave your device or appliance plugged into the Kill-a-Watt for about 30 minuets to an hour. Upon returning, the Kill-a-Watt LDC allows you to see how much energy your appliance used in the last hour as well as how much it will cost you in a year.
Large appliances such as refrigerators or washing machines may benefit best from the Kill-a-Watt. Since these devices are constantly plugged-in they prove to be the biggest drain on your electricity usage, but the numbers are never quite solid. The Kill-a-Watt can help you decide if it’s time for a new clothes dryer or not based on how much of a drain it is on your electricity bill.
The new Kill-a-Watt EZ is much like the original, only featuring a battery back-up and boasts an accuracy of 98%. A boon to the Kill-a-Watt is its feature in eco-home kits such as those sold by Greenmaker Supply. Along with other helpful habits like new CFL bulbs the Kill-a-Watt may be the best way to save money and still enjoy all your favorite gadgets.
I am an junior English major/ Philosophy minor at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Currently I am spending the spring of 2009 studying at the University College Cork in Cork, Ireland.
