Kill A Watt today! Save $$$ by reducing your home's power usage!
Written: Mar 08 '09 (Updated Oct 02 '09)
Product Rating:
Pros: Kwh measurement, instantaneous readout, power surge detection.
Cons: Limited amperage range, blocks all plugs on a wall outlet
The Bottom Line: The P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt meter will pay for itself in a few months by reporting how much power your electronic devices actually use.
rgathright's Full Review: Equipment Monitor Kill A Watt
While working at home, the P4400 energy meter has helped me reduce my energy bills. My electric bill was over $450 two years ago and now it goes between $150 and $300 depending on the month. The low cost of the product, $20, means it is easily within the reach of nearly any consumer. The only real drawback is that the meter cannot monitor large appliances like room air conditioners; it still can tell you how much power that 100 watt light bulb is really pulling and what it is actually costing you.
The meter will arrive packaged in a large, clear two piece plastic enclosure. Inside are an instruction manual and the product itself. The device weighs about 2 ounces. The case is made of sturdy, beige colored plastic and is rugged enough to survival the occasional fall on the floor. The P3 International Kill A Watt is very large though, while plugged in it will block both outlets on a standard 120VAC wall outlet.
The display is 4 digits and has the following front-panel button capabilities: volts, volt-amps, amps, watts, power-factor, frequency (hz), KWH, timer (since reset). The volts button displays the volts at the wall socket. The amp button shows the amount of current being consumed through P4400. The watt button displays the watts being consumed. The Hz and power-factor show characteristics of the power coming into your house. The red or KWH button shows the number of kilowatt hours consumed since last reset of the unit. When the unit is unplugged, it will lose all data.
Success Stories The following examples are the result of monitoring electricity usage on my household appliances. The total electricity savings for me was about .7Kwh a day which represents $.07 at $.10 per Kwh a day! The net profit after one year is $25.55 which pays for the cost of my Kill A Watt meter! Refrigerator Savings My ten year old refrigerator was consuming an average of 2.2Kwh per day. Obviously this was costing me a tremendous amount of money per year and I wished to reduce the cost without buying a new one. First, I pulled off the bottom filter screen and discovered it was very clogged inside with dust and pet hair. For the next four hours, I cleaned out the bottom and back of my fridge. The next day, Kill A Watt reported 1.81Kwh of usage. The following day this was reduced to 1.53Kwh. The likely reason for the first reading after cleaning was the fridge had to chill down after being opened so long the day before.
Cel-phone and Lawnmower battery chargers We all have cel-phone, portable game and cordless electric lawn mower battery chargers plugged in around the house. When not used these chargers still consume electricity. My electric lawn mower battery charger was consuming 3 watts of power which translated into .1Kwh after after a week. I now disconnect all my chargers when not in use and save approximately .1Kwh a week by doing so.
Power Surge Detection Recently, I have had my meter plugged into a wall outlet in the kitchen and noticed constant elevated spikes of voltage in the afternoons. Spikes are dangerous in a modern home because they send sensitive electronics more power than they can handle. However, the real danger is with your filament based light bulbs. They are very sensitive to voltages above 120 VAC and can burn out quickly. If you are experiencing frequent burnouts of bulbs, I suggest photographing the display and contacting your power company to see if they can resolve the issue.
I tried plugging the Frigidaire FAS156N1A Heavy Duty Room Air Conditioner into my first Kill A Watt P4400 and to my horror saw the display go away! The air conditioner itself was not powering up the compressor either. After removing the meter, the compressor came on. I tried plugging the P4400 into another outlet but the display was very faded and nothing I could plug in would cause it to respond. The meter blew out its circuit board because the 1500+ watts of power overloaded the shunt.
Specifications 120 VAC, one socket. 4 Digit LCD Display 1500 Watt peak current capacity (damage will result above this amount) Displays volts, amps, and wattage within 0.2 percent accuracy 6 month manufacturer's warranty
Summary The Kill A Watt P4400 by P3 International is a great buy and will pay for itself if used to monitor power usage by large appliances like refrigerators and home entertainment equipment. The device does have its peak power limitations but these can be overcome if you are careful about what is actually plugged in. For me, the real fun is watching how much power products in my home consume. You should get one today and start saving as well!
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