Kill-a-Watt
by TreeHugger 
on 05.18.05
Want to make your home more energy-efficient but are not sure where the biggest savings could be made? Want to go off-grid but you don't know how much energy each of your appliances and gizmos use? Is replacing that aging fridge worth it? Here's a gadget that might be useful to help settle these questions: Kill-a-Watt. You just plug it in the power outlet, plug into it whatever it is that you want to test et voilà! The first step toward conservation is having feedback on how much you consume.
Kill-a-Watt is not quite perfect: Having an easy to read power-meter that tells you how much everything (individually and together) inside the house consumes in real-time, as with the so-called intelligent houses, would be better, but K-a-W has the advantage of being inexpensive and better than the nothing that most people have. "LCD display, cumulative killowatt-hour monitor, displays volts, amps, watts, Hz, VA, forecast your costs, 0.2% accuracy," says the manufacturer. You should be able to find it online between $15 and $25. You can see photos of the insides here. ::P3 International: Kill a WATT ::Via WorldChanging
[by MGR]
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Forget Going Green Because It's the Right Thing to Do—Go Green to Make Your Neighbors Jealous
- Does Recycling Really Make a Difference?
- Green Glossary: Bagasse
- 6 Tasty Brain-Boosting Treats, Made Sustainable
- Green Demolitions Recycles Your Junk, Helps You Find New, Energy-Efficient Appliances
- The Week's Best DIY Projects: Kid-Friendly Coloring Books, Energy-Saving Chargers, and Woven Coasters
Could you have made any more obvious that your photo on this post is backward?
Ben, you're right. For some reason I originally thought that it would look better if the thing faced the text, but now all I can see is the mirror numbers. I'll change it.
So do you need one of these for every plug in your house? Would seem better if you could buy a "master" that plugs into your meter or something...
where do you find these foe $15
thanks