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: ..plan to run around testing all of your electronics...
Summary: 5 Stars
Figuring out how much electricity your gadgets ACTUALLY consume is a little addictive. Plan to spend a couple of hours trying this gadget out when you first get it. And while you're having fun doing that, you'll be figuring out which devices are driving up your electricity bills. Does that LCD really save enough power over the CRT to warrant the upgrade? (answer: probably yes)
The negatives: There is no memory, unplug the device and lose the accumulated usage data. C'mon, a capacitor to keep state for a minute would cost pennies. The design will cover at least two plugs in a standard outlet, so I often had to unplug other unrelated gear. The whole design begs for an upward slanted display or a swivel head. Most electrical outlets are installed within a couple of feet of the ground, so combined with no memory once unplugged, this means reading the display requires crouching or crawling, getting under the desk, etc. Ergonomically there's a lot left to desire. The ergonomics are addressed in the more expensive power-strip version of the KillAWatt (P3 P4320 KILL-A-WATT POWER STRIP WITH SURGE PROTECTION)but it would be nice to have in the basic version.
For the price, this is definitely 5 stars, and these guys deserve kudos for this handy, eco-consciousness inspiring tool. But the somewhat awkward design would lead me to give this a 4 star rating if it were any more expensive.
Customer Review: Great little device for a LOW price
Summary: 5 Stars
As I frequently tell people, it doesn't make sense to spend lots of dollars, just to save a few pennies. (Or as Benjamin Franklin said, "Penny wise; Dollar foolish.") Spending lots of money would defeat the goal of what I am trying to achieve (save money), so I'm extremely happy with the low, low price on this item.
Now the device:
It's cool! :-) As an electrical engineer I've always wondered how much power my different devices use. Lightbulbs are easy; just read the label, but with electronic devices it's often difficult to know since they list the maximum power rather than the typical power usage.
So as soon as I received this gadget, I immediately started plugging things into it. Large TV = 90 watts. Small TV = 60 watts. Computer CRT = also 60. DVD Player = surprise; only 15 watts. Electric blanket = 90 watts low; 130 watts high! :-o
I've already started making changes to save money. Turn down the TV volume and it drops 5 watts. Set the computer's screen saver to activate after five minutes (down from 60 to 40 watts) and shut-off after only fifteen minutes (down to 1 watt). And so on.
The device also has the ability to track your kilowatt-hours, so you can measure a device's usage for one week or one month, and then multiply by your electricity cost (typically 15 cents each kwh), and see how much money that one device used.
Money well spent. (Or perhaps I should say: Well saved.)
:-)
Customer Review: Great little device for a LOW price
Summary: 5 Stars
As I frequently tell people, it doesn't make sense to spend lots of dollars, just to save a few pennies. (Or as Benjamin Franklin said, "Penny wise; Dollar foolish.") Spending lots of money would defeat the goal of what I am trying to achieve (save money), so I'm extremely happy with the low, low price on this device.
Now the device:
It's cool! :-) As an electrical engineer I've always wondered how much power my different devices use. Lightbulbs are easy; just read the label, but with electronic devices it's often difficult to know since they list the maximum power rather than the typical power usage.
So as soon as I received this gadget, I immediately started plugging things into it. Large TV = 90 watts. Small TV = 60 watts. Computer CRT = also 60. DVD Player = surprise; only 15 watts. Electric blanket = 90 watts low; 130 watts high! :-o
I've already started making changes to save money. Turn down the TV volume and it drops 5 watts. Set the computer's screen saver to 5 minutes (down from 60 to 40 watts) and shut-off after only 15 minutes (down to 1 watt). And so on.
The device also has the ability to track your kilowatt-hours, so you can measure a device's usage for one week or one month, and then multiply by your electricity cost (typically 20 cents each kwh), and see how much money that one device used.
Money well spent. (Or perhaps I should say: Well saved.)
:-)
Customer Review: Works great!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this to determine the kilowatt usage of various small applicances around the house. My goal was to find out what's using all the power in the house so I could reduce the bill.
After measuring everything I could reasonably unplug, what I found was very interesting:
1) Contrary to popular opinion, the cell phone charger does not use anything unless it's activly charging the phone. Even then, it was about 2 watts. No reason to unplug it unless you need the outlet or just hate clutter. It's a Motorola, YMMV.
2) Our 42" Plasma TV is rated for a max of 450W. Actual usage was about 350 when fully lit. This is about .50 a day as we only use it in the evenings.
3) The computer(s)...
First, a Pentium 4e 3.4ghz with 2 GB of ram and 2 250GB hard drives. 150 watts all the time.
Second, a Core2 Duo E8600 with 8 GB of ram and 4 hard drives. 100 watts all of the time.
Together, they cost $25 a month at .17/kwh which is my average cost.
Moral - get a new PC. They use a ton less power.
If you want to know how much your Refrigerator uses, I suggest getting a larger unit. The power on surge may too much for this unit. I wish someone made a larger unit for a reasonable price.
Overall, I'm very happy with the device, but once I've tested everything, it will sit in a drawer.
Oh, did I turn anything off? No. I just know where the usage is going to now. Still a good purchase.
Customer Review: Not for everyone, but I sure like it
Summary: 5 Stars
The reason I say this isn't for everyone is because not everyone really cares enough to take the time to see how much electricity is being used by their appliances and other items plugged into the wall socket. I'd say you have to already have a natural curiosity about such things in order to have an interest in this device.
I do. I find it fascinating to hook this up between the wall outlet and an electrical product to see just how much energy is being used, and how it varies depending on how the product is set (such as how much power is drawn on televisions and amplifiers when they are "off" or the difference in power drawn when you increase the level of an appliance, etc.).
This product is great for performing an energy audit of your home, office, someone else's home, etc. That's about where it stops for me, though - unless something is drawing an outrageous amount of power, I'm content with merely knowing how much power is being used rather than taking steps to find a lower-power solution. I guess I am no Al Gore - that is, not really going out of my way to be green, but at the same time not using up 100x more energy than my neighbors and flying around the country in a lear jet, haha..
Well ignore my swipe at Mr. Gore.. regarding this product, it is a very useful thing to have around and I believe its utility justifies the price.