Inquisition

I bought a Kill A Watt because I was thinking of doing an small solar panel project for a few rooms in my house. Basically what it does is measure the voltage, amps, wattage, frequency and kWh an appliance uses. From there you can figure out approximately how much power the object uses and then figure out how much it will cost you.

I guarantee if you install this device on your appliances at home and figure out how much power you actually use, you will save money. If you are into reducing your energy consumption for global issues, you can use that for your motivation, but for most, it's about saving money. This will save you money. I installed it on a freezer I have in the basement that I don't really use. Had the Kill A Watt on for about 2.5 hours. Went down stairs, ran some numbers in Excel, it costs me about $262.80 a year to run that device. That's a lot of money. I will be unplugging it in the next couple of days.

I got mine off eBay for a little over $20. It was worth every penny. I strongly suggest people who want to save money purchase one as you will make your money back plus some in a year or less.

YouTube Video for those who can't read: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l_mo1jwh8Y

kain

is this "DEVICE" a plug in *****?

are you going to convert your whole house to dc voltage?

Inquisition

No. I'm going to buy an inexpensive inverter as I don't believe I will need a true sine wave inverter. I'll put certain devices I want on that and probably also have the lights on it as well but the lights will be on a switch where it can run off the solar or off regular electrical. I'll also probably buy a couple of DC things like a desk lamp and maybe a radio so I don't have to tax the inverter so much. We'll see. The solar system is still very much in the "design" phase.

Like I said, I'm only looking to apply this solar system to a few rooms. Most likely one or two bedrooms and my bathroom upstairs. The bathroom doesn't get used that often (maybe an hour to an hour and a half of lights and vent usage). The rooms are a big unknown as I really don't know how much a few things in the rooms draw on a daily basis.

Tough-guy

That's just like watching the gas gauge. It all depends on how you drive. How is a meter gonna tell you saved energy, just turn the light out when you visit the **** section.

Inquisition

Um, some people don't realize that leaving 2 60W bulbs on 24/7 is quite costly. Or the difference between leaving your computer on 24/7 or shutting it off each night. Or how much energy their cell phone charger uses by just sitting plugged in. Or if you are going out of town, you should unplug devices as they drain power for no reason. For example, why leave your cable modem on if you aren't going to be home? Plug it in when you walk in the door and wait 60 seconds for it to grab the connection. That could save you $20 a year. The Kill A Watt itself is just a device that makes you become aware of what you are doing if you choose to become aware. It quantifies expectations and estimations. Honestly, I'd go as far to say it has the possibility of being a life changing device.

TorganFM

I've been working as an electricians helper for the past summer and winter break and I looked at some BP solar pamphlets. A 175W/200W panel is something like 3'x5'. The worst part of solar is the initial cost, but if you can get enough panels to power your ----, the remaining power can be used to power the power grid, and electric companies will credit you for powering the grid. Plus there's government and electric company incentives for getting into alternative power means. I'd personally like to do as much of my roof as possible with panels and perhaps even put a few windmills up. 30' up there is usually at least 2mph constant wind, enough to turn a windmill. I don't know, it's all a pipe dream for now, but when I establish myself and start on my career path I have a few ideas on being more self sufficient.

88dx

I was really expecting something like a $20 ******* :1

Tough-guy

If you really wanted to save power you could move to a magic forrest with a bunch of hippies and pretend you are camping year round. Mmmm....marshmellows.

I was leaning towrds that too.

johnmichael

you want to talk about the future? photovoltaic is NOT the answer. you'll never be able to afford enough panels to power everything in your house.

look into geoexchange/geothermal heating systems. using the earth's constant temperature to heat/cool/provide hot water. i heat/cool to whatever temp i want and provide all the hot water i can use for about 20 bucks a month.

then again, i design and install geothermal systems for a living, i may be biased.

Inquisition

Explain more. I'm all about self dependence.

The typical break even point on a good solar system in the right area of America is about 15-20 years. It's a long term investment for sure. For me, I can install a 160W system with batteries, inverter, and controller for right around $1000 with rebate. Without the rebate, we are talking about $1700-2000. If you are in the wrong environment and you have no rebates, don't expect to break even.