Lets talk Power (electric that is)

I've been playing around with my Kill A Watt meter, measuring actual usage of different things. I would highly recommend you spend the $20 and pick one of these up -- you can save lots of money :)

Some interesting things:

My new desktop, with the 500 Watt power supply, uses about 110-120 watts average (monitor not included -- add another 40 or so for a small LCD). When it is turned off, it uses 4 watts continuously :sqerr:

My one laptop, uses between 20-40 watts, depending on whether it is charging the internal batteries at the time.


So, if you switch to a laptop from a desktop, you can save $9-10 per month on electric costs, which may not sound like much, but adds up over time.


Wall warts use a few watts constantly, whether they are powering something or not -- unplug them when not using.


I'm replacing my fridge, because it is old, and wasteful. If your fridge was made before 2001, you will save anywhere from 60-120 bucks a year in electric costs by getting a new one. Mine was made in the 70s :sqerr:

Fridges with freezers on top, are the most efficient (cold air goes down), side by sides are the worst, and having an ice maker/water dispenser outside, also is a waste of energy.


Just some things to think on from your tree hugger friend... :)

Damn, and there's a TV on my fridge door :D:D:D:D:D:D

Damn, and there's a TV on my fridge door :D:D:D:D:D:D

No donuts for you Jacob :sqlaugh:

Ill stick with my desktop... I do have the lappy but with the way I run my PC, i would kill a HD every month... Cooling sucks on laptops...

I'm replacing my fridge, because it is old, and wasteful. If your fridge was made before 2001, you will save anywhere from 60-120 bucks a year in electric costs by getting a new one. Mine was made in the 70s :sqerr:



Hey Rick, the new fridge should hold more beer and get it cold quicker then your old one did and it will cost less. With all the money you are saving on electric now you can buy more beer. CHEERS!!! :sqwink:

Damn, and there's a TV on my fridge door :D:D:D:D:D:D

My new one will have a monitor and internet.... :rofl:

Thanks Rick,

I was reading a post about this in non-dj related forum.

I think this would be a good "take-to-a-gig" tool too.

From the manufacturer:

"Also check the quality of your power by monitoring Voltage, Line Frequency, and Power Factor."

http://www.p3international.com/products/special/P4400/P4400-CE.html

If you have a water cooler in your home, unplugging it when it's not needed can save a few watts. Especially so if it has a hot tank (dispenses hot water). Remember, these things cool and heat water all the time. Even when they're not needed.

Electric clothes dryers are convenient but they spin the meter off the wall. Hang a few lines outside when the weather is nice and save a lot of dough.

Hey Rick, ... With all the money you are saving on electric now you can buy more beer. CHEERS!!! :sqwink:
Man, where have you been? Rick doesn't BUY beer anymore! He BREWS his own beer!! Bottoms up...

If you have a water cooler in your home, unplugging it when it's not needed can save a few watts. Especially so if it has a hot tank (dispenses hot water). Remember, these things cool and heat water all the time. Even when they're not needed.

Electric clothes dryers are convenient but they spin the meter off the wall. Hang a few lines outside when the weather is nice and save a lot of dough.


Well, I tested my water cooler for 24 hours (it has both hot and cold), and it uses about 2.8 kwh per day, without me even drawing any water from it :sqerr:

I normally only have that plugged in in the winter, so's I have hot water for morning oatmeal, but I will rethink that, as it costs about $10 a month to run...


I only do laundry once a month, as I maintain a one month supply of clean clothes, so no biggie on the dryer for me.


My biggest offenders are the water pump, to keep the pressure tank filled, and my old fridge. So as mentioned, the fridge is getting replaced shortly, and the water pump is getting replaced with a 12V solar powered pump. Our pump is under the house, as the water is gravity fed from the spring well to the house, and it is also incredibly noisy all throughout the house -- you always know when it's pumping :sqerr: The new one should get rid of the noise as well :)

Rick this is a great Idea,where can I buy one of these meters?

P@40

Got mine from NewEgg :)

Thanks, Rick.

Reason I mentioned water coolers, I used to work for Sunroc. Before they were bought out by Oasis and shut down, that is.

Anyhoo, the refrigeration unit isn't near as energy-hungry as the hot tank. The refrigeration compressor is an inductive load. The hot tank heater is a resistive load. Usually, one or both are energized during the course of a day. If your cooler has a hot tank switch, turn it off when you don't "need" to dispense hot water. :)

No switch on mine (story of my life).


Anyway, I'm gonna test how much energy I would use heating the water in the nuker, versus letting the water cooler heater (weird sounding) run. I'm betting it will be much cheaper to just run the nuker for a minute or two, to heat the water.

I'll test with the meter for a few days...