Plug-in Power Usage Monitor

gort · 30 Aug 2006 at 17:38

Has anyone ever used one of these monitors that'll tell you the amount of electricity you're using and cost etc?

Was curious as to how much my whole rig actually uses (as well as other things round the house.)

fatiain · 30 Aug 2006 at 17:40

gort said:
Was curious as to how much my whole rig actually uses (as well as other things round the house.)

Buy one and find out then.

(and don't hotlink)

Werewolf · 30 Aug 2006 at 17:43

i've got one and my P4 3ghz with X800 uses about 190watts in normal use (fairly constant), peaking at about 250 during boot.

I haven't tried it on the monitor yet, but my 28" CRT TV uses about 120 (I think), and the fridge uses about a unit a day in shortish bursts of about 90-100 watts.

Roduga · 30 Aug 2006 at 17:43

I want one!

decmatt · 30 Aug 2006 at 19:04

cant u get ones that plug into your fuse box for your whole house?

[GSH]Quest · 30 Aug 2006 at 19:07

I'd be interested in one of these. Any links?

frosty03 · 30 Aug 2006 at 19:07

Solac said:
cant u get ones that plug into your fuse box for your whole house?

you already have one, it's called the electric meter....

BeatMaster · 30 Aug 2006 at 20:25

Solac said:
cant u get ones that plug into your fuse box for your whole house?

frosty03 said:
you already have one, it's called the electric meter....

Brilliant

BeatMaster

hsp70 · 31 Aug 2006 at 01:33

http://www.electrisave.co.uk/

this is a little more user friendly than nipping to the meter all the time. Basically a portable device that shows you how much power/money you are using at any given time.

When you have information like this readily available to hand all the time, i find you do become more aware of energy conservation, switching off items you don't need like lights etc

Dr.EM · 31 Aug 2006 at 09:42

For "fun", pop it on the outlet the kettle uses and boil it. You may be suprised (or not depending if you've seen the power requirements for them).

[OZ] · 31 Aug 2006 at 10:09

Dr.EM said:
For "fun", pop it on the outlet the kettle uses and boil it. You may be suprised (or not depending if you've seen the power requirements for them).

I may be wrong but does boiling your kettle once not use the same electricity as leaving the living room light on for a full night?

hybrid · 31 Aug 2006 at 11:27

Dr.EM said:
For "fun", pop it on the outlet the kettle uses and boil it. You may be suprised (or not depending if you've seen the power requirements for them).

Electric bar heater would own that

SidewinderINC · 31 Aug 2006 at 11:28

the heater i had in my old place was 2000W, my kettle is 3300W. i cant be bothered to wait for my hot water

Dr.EM · 31 Aug 2006 at 12:07

Kettles are usually 2.1-2.5Kw. Sidewinder obviously has a pimped out kettle

I don't know how long they take to boil as I don't have hot drinks, but 2.1Kw is 21 times more than the 100W of a standard light bulb, so if the kettle takes 1/21th of a night to boil, that may be true, I doubt it does tbh; however some are over 2.1Kw and the start up power will be higher. It probably uses more than a whole night of energy saving bulb light at around 20W.