Watts Back in Your Wallet!

As the cost of living continues to rise, curiosity about your power usage can be a game-changer for your budget. Getting to know your energy consumption helps you find ways to save money and be more efficient. Take charge of your expenses and start exploring your power usage now!

How much energy your appliances are consuming?

Do you want to find ways to reduce your electricity bills and be more energy-efficient?

Look no further! The Ottawa Public Library has a fantastic resource that can help you with just that – and no, it is not a book! It’s a tool! Look for the Kill-A-Watt Electricity Usage Monitor.

The Kill-A-Watt Power Meter, made by P3 International, is a highly popular and widely used energy monitor. It is a leading product among the company’s energy management and conservation devices. The most prominent product in this range is the “Kill-A-Watt Electricity Usage Monitor.”

The Kill-A-Watt Electricity Usage Monitor is a small, portable device that monitors the energy consumption of appliances, enabling users to identify energy-wasting devices and calculate electricity costs.

A Kill-A-Watt works by measuring the power usage of a device. Features include:

1. Plug design: The Kill-A-Watt is usually a small device with a standard electrical plug at one end. You can plug it into a standard electrical outlet like you would with any other appliance.
2. Display: The device comes with a digital or analog display that shows various measurements and information about the electricity consumption of the connected appliance.
3. Current and Voltage Measurement: Once plugged in, the Kill-A-Watt measures both the electrical current (in amperes) and voltage (in volts) flowing through it.
4. Power Calculation: With the current and voltage readings, the device calculates the real-time power consumption of the connected appliance using the formula: Power (in watts) = Voltage (in volts) × Current (in amperes).
5. Energy Consumption: The Kill-A-Watt also keeps track of the energy consumed by the appliance over a period of time. It integrates the power consumption over time to give you the total energy used in watt-hours (Wh) or kilowatt-hours (kWh). This feature is especially useful for devices that have variable power consumption or for monitoring power usage over extended periods.
6. Cost Calculation: Some models of Kill-A-Watt allow you to input your electricity rate, so it can calculate the estimated cost of running the appliance based on energy usage.
7. Additional Features: More advanced models may come with additional features like a built-in memory for data storage, programmable settings, and the ability to connect to a computer or smartphone for data analysis and logging.

Ok, I am in, now what?

Borrow a Kill-A-Watt from the Ottawa Public Library!

The best part is that you don’t need to purchase a Kill-A-Watt; you can borrow one for free from the Ottawa Public Library! Here’s how:

1. Visit the Ottawa Public Library Website: Go to the Ottawa Public Library’s official website and navigate to their “Resources” or “Equipment Borrowing” section.
2. Check Availability: Search for the Kill-A-Watt Electricity Usage Monitor in the online catalogue to check its availability at your nearest library branch.
3. Place a Hold: If the device is available, you can place a hold on it to ensure you can pick it up when you visit the library.
4. Borrow and Enjoy: Head to your chosen library branch, present your library card and borrow the Kill-A-Watt just like you would with any other item from the library or you can conveniently self-checkout.

Through this exercise, I discovered how much power each device consumes, and which ones needed replacement. Unexpectedly, my work setup had much higher power usage than my personal laptop and monitor. I’m still analyzing the data, but it provided an interesting insight.

If you’ve used the Kill A Watt, I’d love to hear about your experience! In the meantime, I’ll keep exploring the data and insights.

Happy Analyzing!