bit-tech Shopping: P3 International P3 P4400 Kill-A-Watt Electricity Usage Monitor

Rating: 4

Time with product:

Strengths: Cheap

Weaknesses: Inconveinant to use, Only good for outlets by a kitchen counter and if the outlet has the ground lug facing down, Useless for BB outlets in older homes or low wall outlets w/ ground lug facing up.

Summary: Needs to be redesigned to use a remote sensor type plug/socket arrangement so as to have a cable between that and the meter so you can actually use the device when plugging into a low wall outlet. Having the plug & receptacle on the unit is not practical, but it is cheap (as low as $16 plus shipping).

Rating: 8

Time with product: 30

Strengths: Displays every imaginable electric use function - voltage, Hz, watts, VA, KW per hour, more.

Weaknesses: Display is a bit hard to see - you often need a flashlight.

Summary: I used this device to find out how many of my electronic products are "leaking" electricity. My old HP printer uses 7 watts just sitting there. I decided it wasn't worth replacing the refrigerator yet by charting electricity usage over a weeks time. This device will reduce the carbon footprint of our household, and cut our electricity costs - all for less than $20. Everyone should have one, and find out just how much juice that old fridge is really using. A real eye-opener if you interested in the environment - and reducing your electric bill.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 3 Months

Strengths: Let you know how much energy your using well.

Weaknesses: Kinda hard to read the readout in dim light.

Summary: This product works well other than it is a little difficult to read. I have estimated that I will save about $50 a year on items I no longer leaving in stand by mode.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 1 Months

Strengths: - works as advertised- easy to use

Weaknesses: - you may need a flashlight to read it!

Summary: This device is extremely useful in helping you understand which equipment in your house is consuming unnecessary power.You just plug the unit into a socket and then plug your equipment into the Kill-a-watt. It can be a bit of a pain if your wall outlet is in a dim or hard to reach place, as you cannot unplug the Kill-a-watt to look at the display. Keeping the above in mind, its a great little product that will easily pay for itself.(I bought mine online in Canada)

Rating: 10

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Great way to save money and help the environment.

Weaknesses: Fancier model can be programmed to automatically calculate energy costs.

Summary: How much it cost you to run your clothes washer? Should you put your computer in standby, power it down, or just leave it on all day? Is that energy saving feature on your air conditioner worth using? The Kill A Watt is a cool little power meter that tells you how much power your appliances are using, something you can't always figure out from the faceplate figures which can be inaccurate and don't account for the fact that most appliances don't run continuously. It's a great way of bringing down your electric bill and helping the environment. The meter also checks voltage, which can alert you to high or low voltages that could waste money or damage appliances. This model gives you a kiloWatt-hour reading and records elapsed time, which, in conjunction with your power company's rates, allows you to figure out how much an appliance is costing you per day. There's a fancier model that does the simple calculations for you, but unless you're uncomfortable with the formulas it's more expensive and IMO not worth the extra cash -- the idea is to save money, not spend it.