Electric bill seems high...advice? - Page 4 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

ZachUA · 02-26-2009, 06:57 PM

hey guys, sorry for the slow response. I've been tinkering with the kill a watt thingy and I like it a lot. I haven't tried it on the fridge yet...been in and out of town a lot.

I plugged my computer into it and left it off and after like 4 days it registered 1.5. I'm assuming this is 1.5 killawatt or roughly 10 cents? (like 7 cents per here)

Clev · 02-26-2009, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZachUA

hey guys, sorry for the slow response. I've been tinkering with the kill a watt thingy and I like it a lot. I haven't tried it on the fridge yet...been in and out of town a lot.

I plugged my computer into it and left it off and after like 4 days it registered 1.5. I'm assuming this is 1.5 killawatt or roughly 10 cents? (like 7 cents per here)

Depends on the setting. If it's 1.5kWh over about 4 days, you're looking at about 15.5 watts, which is a bit high for a computer turned completely off. (Most of my machines read between 0 and 3 watts when turned off.) Press the WATT button and take an instant reading with it turned off to verify.

ZachUA · 02-26-2009, 07:33 PM

well I could be wrong about how many days it was. At any rate I will check that when I get home and let you know. The only thing pulling electricity was the little yellow led light on the monitor, but the tower was turned off and the screen on the monitor was off. I'm sure that little led pulls a little bit though.

Clev · 02-26-2009, 08:18 PM

Yup, check it out and let us know--that "Watt" button is a lifesaver. If you're pulling that many watts with the machine off (and not in 'Standby',) it's time for a new power supply. (The most I've seen is an HP Proliant server, which drew 60 watts from EACH of the two power supplies with the server off.)

ZachUA · 03-03-2009, 05:26 PM

Ok, so when I went back to check the reading for the computer but the screen on the kill-a-watt was blank and when I pressed the buttons it didn't show anything. Well crap.

Anyway, I unplugged it and plugged it into the fridge and it worked fine. So after 24 hours of being plugged into the fridge the reading I got was 1.6. Good or bad??

Ryland · 03-03-2009, 06:12 PM

1.6kwh is not bad, at 12 cents per kwh it would be around $5.75 per month.

ZachUA · 03-03-2009, 07:13 PM

wow, so this ugly ole fridge is only costing me about 5 bucks a month! Not bad! I don't open it much though. Being I live alone and I'm hardly ever at home, the door to the thing probably didn't get opened but about 1 time during that 24hr period that the killawatt was plugged in. I'll check it again this afternoon b/c it's been plugged in for about 3 more days since I last checked it. (It's behind the fridge on teh wall so I have to pull the fridge out to read it)

jjackstone · 03-04-2009, 01:41 AM

Do what I did and plug a power strip in behind the fridge with a long enough cord to set on the counter or wall near it. Then plug in the KW meter to it and plug the fridge into the KW meter.
JJ

Ryland · 03-04-2009, 06:51 PM

you might also check on Ebay for the clamp on style amp meters, or barrow one, then go down your breaker panel and check to see what breakers have a load, in case you have something like heat tape on a drain pipe under the house that once froze, or some other hidden electrical load.

paultreenex · 03-12-2009, 06:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daox

I suggest you take a look over on EcoRenovator - Ecofriendly DIY Home Projects. Its a break off of EM, but for the home side of things. The guys there would like to see what you're doing.

A bit OT, but I just wanted to thank for this link, it's actually both interesting, and useful.