# i got a kill-a-watt meter



## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

hello. i'm meloc and i'm addicted to electricity.  my second choice for a screen name would have to be mr. kilawatt because it seems that i always have at least 1000 watts in use somewhere, even when asleep.  my interest in alternative energy was never about becoming totally independent...i doubt i could ever shed the watts or afford the system that could keep me...but they say that admitting you have a problem is the first step on the road to recovery.

the first test with the meter was on a group of three dual-tube, 4 foot flourescent lights i am using on my tomato and pepper plants. that is actually one fixture short of what i feel i should be using, lol, but i digress. i was pleasantly surprised to see that the lights use 181-182 watts. that is the same as 3 60 watt incandescents, so i think the performance is ok.

the next test was on the fan i use when i sleep...a habit i picked up to drown out other noises while working 3rd shift and trying to sleep during the day. the middle setting on the 3 speed fan uses 67 watts. the low setting is 57 watts and the high setting is @ 81 watts. i didn't test the space heater in that room...i don't have the courage, but i use the 1000 watt setting. maybe i will let the meter take a reading while i sleep and cry when i wake.

the current test is on the crt monitor i am using right now while online. the phantom load while powered down was a whopping 6 watts...pretty greedy for "off". the "on" usage is 74 watts...a little better than i expected.

i plan on scoping out all of the phantom loads in my house. i can't wait to check on the cable box, modem and especially the pc. speaking of the pc, i need to leave and power down and take a reading. 


i love new toys!


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

well, i'm back and the pc also draws 6 watts when off. "regular" usage like surfing and e-mail seem to draw between 160-220 watts. i'll have to check it out when i am playing a video game just to see what the power-hog video card uses.


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## woodsy (Oct 13, 2008)

Welcome to the 12 step electraholic club.
I've noticed my electric bill steadily climbing over the years.
Currently using about 700 kwh per month, thats too much, something has got to go.
Keep us posted on your power usage findings findings.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

The one that blew me away was the sat dish,uses the same amt of power when turned 'off ', hows that for a phantom load!


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

. .Love that . . 12 step electraholic club . . . . . . 


Step 13 is to get 20 million others to join in................................

Yup somebody defined a new meaning of . ."off"

Plug strips with a switch are the way to go to get rid of those "6 watt" nasty's

Seem to recall reading that for some reason sat dish electronics liked to stay on constantly . . . . . . .would like to hear the logic of that.......
booboo how about putting your kill-a-watt on the sat electric and posting 'watt' it uses . .? . . . just curious.


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## woodsy (Oct 13, 2008)

Are all names for those off electrical devices that will continue to use power when turned off.
I am currently at war with electric consumption(actually have been) and am going to put a serious dent in consumption with my new DIY solar water heater which will be going online within a month+-.
Looking at 30-40 $ per month in savings.
Thats 3-4,000$ over 10 years, woo-hoo!
Anyway, good read here on all this phantom sucking vampire stuff appliances.


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## woodsy (Oct 13, 2008)

woodsy said:


> Currently using about 700 kwh per month, thats too much, something has got to go.
> .


OK, only 607 KWH last month, just got the bill.
Soon to be 400-450 KWH per month.
How much elec. do you consume per month?


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## StaceyS (Nov 19, 2003)

130 kwh for me - I live alone, though and shut off absolutely everything that I am not using!


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## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

Our best so far was 19.73 per day, so 592 for that month. It started to creep back up over winter and was at the 22-23 per day mark (660-690 per month). That is for the 4 of us - 2 adults, 2 teenagers.


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## primal1 (Aug 22, 2003)

hehe i'm addicted to my kill-o-watt meter too, my last bill was 473 kw for 59 days so i am pretty happy... 

My tv uses 2w when it's off and 120w when it's on


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## SolarGary (Sep 8, 2005)

Hi,
The Kill A Watt meters are great.

Some odd ones we found:
- Radon fan, which is on all the time -- 40 watts, and its a "low power" one. Put it on a half on/half off timer.

- All of the battery chargers for battery tools added up to 18 watts. Now have them on a power strip -- may add a timer to top the batteries up once a day for half an hour -- wonder if this is a good idea for batter life?

- Found one little tiny TV that we never use, but was still plugged that was pulling 10 watts.

- PC, but the connected peripherals used more power when there was no activity than the PC itself. For our 2 PC's on, but doing nothing, the total was 270 watts! Found a good way to handle this:
http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20061125/mini-power-minder-turns-off-power-for-you/
Has been very reliable -- I set the PC to hibernate in 10 minutes, and this gadget turns everything else off.


- Our DVR (a DISH model) is 50 watts whether on or off -- not sure what to do about it. It actually uses more electricity in a year that our new fridge does.

Down to half what we were, but still a long way to go.
http://www.builditsolar.com/References/Half/ProjectsConservation.htm

Gary


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## woodsy (Oct 13, 2008)

StaceyS said:


> 130 kwh for me - I live alone, though and shut off absolutely everything that I am not using!


Ding ding ding, i think we have a winner! Unless Gary can beat that.
But, if i lived alone, i bet i could get close.
As it is, i go around turning off lights, tv, power strips etc... behind the other two family members. I gave up hounding them about it long time ago. :help:


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

woodsy said:


> How much elec. do you consume per month?


My last bill was for 32 days of usage and was 167 KWH for an average usage of 5.2 KWH per day. 

Phantom loads would be 27" 1994 television, 200 watt stereo receiver, DVD player, VHS tape player, and digital signal converter box.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Jim-mi said:


> . .Love that . . 12 step electraholic club . . . . . .
> 
> 
> Step 13 is to get 20 million others to join in................................
> ...


Im doing a long term ceiling fan test right now,IIRC it was somewhere around 25 watts!

Yes,the kill-o-watt meters are fun for sure!


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

Which reminds me,with all the talk and laws about energy efficiency.....seems these phantom loads REALLY add up yet they fly under the radar without a second thought.


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## primal1 (Aug 22, 2003)

Wow, i'm impressed with you guys who can keep your bills down so low! You've inspired me to work harder on energy savings... power bars and unplugging stuff if going to be my new rule

I suspect i'm in the 400's because my basement is a dirt floor and stone wall and i use 220v construction heater to keep it dry/warm, i also use a big fan on a timer to keep air moving. Then there is the water pump and sump. Worse offender might be my hot water tank which is also in the basement, though i did put a 'jacket' on it to insulate more... ideally i should move it upstairs where it's warmer.


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## woodsy (Oct 13, 2008)

We replaced a antiquated refrigerator a few years back with a energy star model, 12 cu. ft. refridgerator + 3-4 cu. ft. ?freezer .
Claims it only costs $37.00 per year to run it, believe it or not?


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## Seeria (Jul 21, 2006)

lol My partner got one a year ago and spent months testing everything with a plug. We did find a few things that we could replace for more efficient items. 

He still plays with the darn thing. lol


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## artificer (Feb 26, 2007)

Sat dishes/DVR's:

I don't think you are going to ever get rid of the "phantom" power. A dvr, in particular, needs to be on all of the time. Yes, they could design a timer based wake up, but its just easier to leave it running, and make sure to record the shows selected.

When we turn off the power at the shed, everything is off, since its either inverter or generator power. When you turn on the directv sat receiver, you have to wait a minute or two to get a station again. Not too terrible for just a watching, but a no-go for dvr. Also, if we happen to miss the authorization signal when the system is off, we have to log in on the net, and get it resent. Most people just want it to work.

Michael


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