Stuff Geeks Want

Electricity is only getting more expensive, making conservation more important than ever. It’s easy to calculate the savings you net going from a 60W incandescent to a 13W compact fluorescent bulb, but what about all that other stuff that draws current in your house?

You can find out exactly how much juice those appliances are sucking with a P3 Kill A Watt Electricity Load Meter and Monitor. Simply plug the device you want to monitor into the Kill A Watt and it goes to work, displaying the current and total watts, volts, amps, and other metrics.

To calculate the cost of running a device, just multiply the wattage it draws in a day (week, month, whatever) by what your electric company charges you.

The Kill A Watt is especially useful for figuring out just how much electricity your entertainment center draws when it’s turned “off”. Just plug the surge protector into the Kill A Watt and watch the numbers climb even though all your gear is off. Then you can figure out if unplugging your setup at the source (as is recommended) is really worth the hassle.

Prices for the Kill A Watt are all over the map, with some places selling it for as much as $40. Pick one up from NewEgg for the bargain price of $17.99 plus $5.99 shipping. Enter promo code EMCAFBFBE at check-out to save another $3 (you’ll need to sign up for the NewEgg newsletter if you’re not already to take advantage of the discount). Or go the Amazon route for $20.87 with the possibility of free shipping if your order tops $25 or you’re an Amazon Prime customer.