3 ms·

> How much energy am I wasting? Plug it into a kill a watt meter and find out: http://www.p3international.com/products/p4400.html http://www.p3international.co

by pwg 7y ago

> How much energy am I wasting? Plug it into a kill a watt meter and find out: http://www.p3international.com/products/p4400.html http://www.p3international.com/products/p4400.html

dmuth 7y ago
This is the comment I came here for. I bought a Kill A Watt some years ago when I wanted to get a feel for what my devices were using and can't say enough good things about it. For USB, I also recommend a USB Power Meter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J7236K2 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J7236K2 to see how much current your peripherals use when charging/when full.
badams2527 7y ago
Out of curiosity, how often do you use a Kill A Watt meter? $23 seems like a high price just to plug a device into for a couple days to say "oh maybe I should turn this off more often"
- kedean 7y ago
  I've always had the same concern stopping me from getting one. I wish I could go to Best Buy or someplace and rent the darn thing for a few hours instead.
- BooneJS 7y ago
  Many libraries have them to check out for a few days.
- pwg 7y ago
  Myself? Never, as I don't have one. When I want to find out what a device is consuming, I hook it up through my Fluke multimeter to obtain the current draw, then calculate the rest. But, for general use by anyone not a EE or Electrician, hooking up a general purpose multimeter to mains power to measure current draw is a not recommended, much danger here, operation. Therefore I erred on the side of caution and recommended the method that was most safe for all involved in all situations. What I suspect you will find, however, is that you will find uses for the device that you never anticipated once you have one.
- paulkrush 7y ago
  The kill a walk is really handy for debugging battery charging. I seem to use it on a regular basis, but I tinker with stuff a lot.
- basch 7y ago
  cheaper to buy smart plugs. https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Monitoring-Required-Warranty-Lifetime/dp/B06XSTJST6 https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Monitoring-Required-Warranty...
- Johnny555 7y ago
  Some community share programs lend them out for free. Including some libraries: https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2655545030_kill_a_watt https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2655545030_kill_...
kps 7y ago
Many UPSs also will report power usage.

by pwg 7y ago

> How much energy am I wasting? Plug it into a kill a watt meter and find out: http://www.p3international.com/products/p4400.html http://www.p3international.com/products/p4400.html

dmuth 7y ago

This is the comment I came here for. I bought a Kill A Watt some years ago when I wanted to get a feel for what my devices were using and can't say enough good things about it. For USB, I also recommend a USB Power Meter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J7236K2 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J7236K2 to see how much current your peripherals use when charging/when full.

badams2527 7y ago

Out of curiosity, how often do you use a Kill A Watt meter? $23 seems like a high price just to plug a device into for a couple days to say "oh maybe I should turn this off more often"

kedean 7y ago
I've always had the same concern stopping me from getting one. I wish I could go to Best Buy or someplace and rent the darn thing for a few hours instead.
BooneJS 7y ago
Many libraries have them to check out for a few days.
pwg 7y ago
Myself? Never, as I don't have one. When I want to find out what a device is consuming, I hook it up through my Fluke multimeter to obtain the current draw, then calculate the rest. But, for general use by anyone not a EE or Electrician, hooking up a general purpose multimeter to mains power to measure current draw is a not recommended, much danger here, operation. Therefore I erred on the side of caution and recommended the method that was most safe for all involved in all situations. What I suspect you will find, however, is that you will find uses for the device that you never anticipated once you have one.
paulkrush 7y ago
The kill a walk is really handy for debugging battery charging. I seem to use it on a regular basis, but I tinker with stuff a lot.
basch 7y ago
cheaper to buy smart plugs. https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Monitoring-Required-Warranty-Lifetime/dp/B06XSTJST6 https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Monitoring-Required-Warranty...
Johnny555 7y ago
Some community share programs lend them out for free. Including some libraries: https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2655545030_kill_a_watt https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2655545030_kill_...

kps 7y ago

Many UPSs also will report power usage.