P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor
by P3 INTERNATIONAL
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List Price: Our Price: $14.99 You Save: $15.00 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor
Customer Review: easily finds wasted energy
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a must have tool. It is very easy to use.
All most every electronic device in your home will use power if it is plugged into a live outlet, even though it is turned off. This power use is known as "phantom power". The phantom power comes from the component of the device that converts AC current into DC current. All electrical processing devices use DC current... like a cell phone. Try testing the power cord that connects to your cell phone. Then disconnect the power cord from the cell phone and notice the power cord is still sucking power from the outlet. The Kill-A-Watt will allow you to find and determine how much phantom power a device consumes instantaneously or over a period of time.
On that note, a simple cure is to plug in the electrical devices to a switchable power strip and turn of the power strip.
Conservation is key!
Customer Review: Terrific Tool to analyze electricity use
Summary: 5 Stars
The unit is invaluable for measuring the power consumption of various items around the house -- Refrigerator, TV, Computer, Printers, Lights, Convection Oven, etc. I found it most helpful in getting an idea of power consumption not only when the item was running full tilt, but also when it was just waiting. It reads voltage, amps, power, volt-amps (which I did not find very useful), and frequency of the electricity being supplied. This was most useful to me since we have a backup power generator for emergencies, and there had been indications that it ran all the way from 57 to 64 hz (cycles per second for us older guys.) The unit confirmed that as more devices were turned on, the frequency indeed did drop, thus explaining why clocks ran slower during the emergencies. Another good use was to help me allocate my computer equipment to three UPS power units to balance the loads.Customer Review: Great tool for calculating circuit load
Summary: 5 Stars
Over the years our electric utility has become less reliable. I've had to add UPS backup to my computers, TiVo, and DVR. The outages have become more frequent and more extended.
Enter the need for a backup generator and transfer switch. The secret of a good install on the transfer switch is knowing what the current draw of the various items plugged in. Which is where this tool shines.
Once you know which lights and outlets are on a circuit, you measure the draw of every one. Add it up then I multiplied by 1.5 for circuits which have motors like the refrigerator, freezer, furnace, washer, and dryer as motors have a surge current draw when starting.
Figures in hand, I assigned to various circuits to one or the other side of the transfer switch, keeping the total running and surge values as close to equal as possible.
Customer Review: Great value! Works as Advertised!
Summary: 5 Stars
Not much else to be said here. I just want to help them boost their product rating. This gadget was dirt cheap at $18 and works perfectly. Super simple to use as a permanent monitoring device or as a meter for profiling your appliances. If you ever wondered just how much electricity you saved when switching to a CFL bulb, just put your CFL bulb into a lamp and plug the lamp into here. Do the same with a regular bulb and your questions will be answered. You can do the same with all those idle AC adapters that aren't charging phones all the time. You'll be surprised to see how much power draw is continuous. Another nagging question you can answer is how much money is being wasted by a Wii console that is still running although the TV is off. This gadget can help you put a price tag on all the little power-waste-items you see around the house.Customer Review: Excellent device for the price.
Summary: 5 Stars
This a great device for tracking electrical power usage. I was surprised that it is able to report current usage above the 15 amp rating. In this condition, it sounds an alarm. You an read the amps being consumed. I was able to read a 17 amp draw. It will get hot and shut down if left too long. If you read the volts and amps, you can calculate the watts. With that you can compute the KWH for a devices slightly over 15 amps.
All of this is not the way to use the device, but it is nice to know that it has an alarm when it is being used at power loads above its rating.
I would like to see a 20 amp version of this device.
I can see how the model with memory would be nice. But this works and does the job. You just have to get your readings before you unplug it.
Cheers,
Al Lococo