Kill a Watt(tm) power meters

Posted by Dan Musicant on November 1, 2009, 4:12 pm

:I guess I'm missing something here. They give you some data, but
:other than curiosity, what usefullness does that data serve. Plug a
:refrig into one and learn it uses x kw and costs x $ per month. But
:there ain't a darn thing you can do about it except buy a new frig.
:Ditto for all the other appliances you have in your home. Yeah, I can
:see figuring what loads you can put on a generator, but other than
:that, what 'useful' data do they provide?
:
:KC

Depends how deep your pockets are. Some people don't give a damn about
20 watts. Others do. 20 watts costs me about $20/year when drawn
24/7/365. Personally, I want to know.

Dan

Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net

Posted by Don Klipstein on November 1, 2009, 10:09 pm

>Depends how deep your pockets are. Some people don't give a damn about
>20 watts. Others do. 20 watts costs me about $20/year when drawn
>24/7/365. Personally, I want to know.

20 watts 24/7/365 costs me $26 per year, in the Pennsylvania
portion of the Philadelphia metro area. Chicago and NYC are similar.

Philadelphia regular residential rate has a surcharge for using more
than 500 KWH per month during air conditioning season - so an
eliminatable 20 watt continuous load may cost more like $30 annually.

There is a looming threat for this to increase substantially in 14
months, when a rate regulation affecting me ends. My power company is
advertizing this on radio, advising their customers to get into
conservation.

- Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)

Posted by Bernie Hunt on November 2, 2009, 5:24 am

Here on Long Island that's $37 per year.

Bernie

> part:

>>Depends how deep your pockets are. Some people don't give a damn about
>>20 watts. Others do. 20 watts costs me about $20/year when drawn
>>24/7/365. Personally, I want to know.

> 20 watts 24/7/365 costs me $26 per year, in the Pennsylvania
> portion of the Philadelphia metro area. Chicago and NYC are similar.
> Philadelphia regular residential rate has a surcharge for using more
> than 500 KWH per month during air conditioning season - so an
> eliminatable 20 watt continuous load may cost more like $30 annually.
> There is a looming threat for this to increase substantially in 14
> months, when a rate regulation affecting me ends. My power company is
> advertizing this on radio, advising their customers to get into
> conservation.
> - Don Klipstein (don@misty.com)

Posted by Jim Elbrecht on October 25, 2009, 8:06 am

>Anybody familiar with them?

Yes! They are the cat's whiskers.

>Is the "EZ" (model P4460) worth an
>extra $15 over model P4400?

If you need sizzle with your steak, I suppose so. It appears that
the EZ has a built in calculator so you can plug in your electric cost
& 'predict' annual costs.

Amazon has the basic P4400 for $20.62 [buy something else for $5 & the
shipping is free]. The 4600 is $34. I wouldn't spend the
extra, myself. I like the KISS principle-- If I need to
calculate cost or future usage I'll do the math in my head or on a $2
calculator. . . or maybe even dig out a pencil.

Jim

Posted by larry on October 25, 2009, 12:45 pm

Jim Elbrecht wrote:

>> Anybody familiar with them?

>
> Yes! They are the cat's whiskers.
>

>> Is the "EZ" (model P4460) worth an
>> extra $15 over model P4400?

>
> If you need sizzle with your steak, I suppose so. It appears that
> the EZ has a built in calculator so you can plug in your electric cost
> & 'predict' annual costs.
>
> Amazon has the basic P4400 for $20.62 [buy something else for $5 & the
> shipping is free]. The 4600 is $34. I wouldn't spend the
> extra, myself. I like the KISS principle-- If I need to
> calculate cost or future usage I'll do the math in my head or on a $2
> calculator. . . or maybe even dig out a pencil.
>
> Jim

Frys periodically has the P4400 on sale for $14.99. If you
use 120vac devices, you should have at least one. I use
them to size battery requirements for UPS.

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Kill a Watt(tm) power meters - Page 4