Kill A Watt

My son and I both have these. They are great. I did discover that the price tends to be a function of the amount of digital functionality. Some of the pricer models let you put in your electric rate (cents per kw hr or something like that). The "plain vanilla" ones my son and I have do everything we need.

I got some surprises, for example the usage pattern of the notebook computer I use (i.e. door open, shut, hibernating etc.) and was pleasantly surprised. If electric usage is a key criteria, I'll use my desktop computer only when I need functionality not in the notebook.

My son got a surprise about the electric usage of his "entertainment system components" when they were not in use. The were drawing 70 watts.

With the electric rates we have here (about 15 cents per kw hour) 10 watts running continuously for a 30 day month becomes $1.08/month. That's a good reason to know how much electricity different appliances are using.

Bill
Edgewater, MD
 
Bill.Secure":3a6dxad9 said:
I got some surprises, for example the usage pattern of the notebook computer I use (i.e. door open, shut, hibernating etc.) and was pleasantly surprised. If electric usage is a key criteria, I'll use my desktop computer only when I need functionality not in the notebook.
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Bill, I always thought that notebook power consumption was binary -- charging or not charging. Not so?

Warren
 
We find that the Kill-a-watt is very handy for the boat. If you have inverter loads, or high loads such as air conditioning, you can determine what size inverter or generator will handle the load. Also it will moniter the voltage on the docks--where often when you are near the end of the dock, the voltage will be low. We recently put a 600 watt microwave on the Tom Cat (the older one died after 20 years use--it was my mothers before on the TC)--and I needed to know if the 1000 watt inverter I had in the shop would handle the load--and the Kill-a -watt told me it drew 8.3 amps max.

Great price!
 
I don't remember the figures exactly, but with a fully charged battery, I think I was using around sixteen watts when the notebook was active. When I let it hibernate or simply closed the cover, it was only using one or two watts. When charging the battery and concurrently active (I didn't measure that one), I suspect it uses close to the 65 watts the power supply provides.

If I get in the mood (and I'm not right now) I'll take readings again and post them.

Bill
Edgewater, MD
 
Are these available in a "clamp on" type? I'd like to measure the power
consumption of larger items such has the high intensity lighting in a
barn, etc. In other words: things that do not plug in.

Suggestions?

Mike
 
starcrafttom":2ox4f122 said:
what did watt ever do to you :wink:
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A man with a hearing problem walked into a power plant for a tour. He arrived late and had to join the rest of the group already on the tour. The man was reviewing what he had just told the group. He told the group that they wouldn't move on untill they answered this one question: "What is the unit of power equal to one joule per second called?" The man with the hearing problem hadn't heard the question very well, so he raised his hand and asked "What?"
 
The Kill a watt is limited to plug in at a 15 amp circuit and the amp-meter is limited to 15 amps.

There are all types of clamp on amp meters. A good professional grade unit will start at about $50--some less. These are often good for 200 amps or more.

I feel that the clamp on meter should be in any amateur electicians box as well as the Kill a watt. The Kill a watt is so easy to use, and simple to calculate energy use.
 
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