There are many approaches to ensure that you save electricity, reduce your electricity bills, and ultimately save some cash. Besides small additions such as power strips which enable you to easily switch off a group of electronic appliances in the home, there are various reasons why you should invest in an Energy monitor. An energy monitor affords you the opportunity to monitor the total amount of electrical energy that you are consuming at home.
Reasons to Use an Energy Monitor
1. Gauge Your Power Consumption
First, an energy monitor will help you get an accurate reading of the amount of energy that a specific appliance is consuming, as well as the operating cost per hour. These energy monitors are available in a variety of styles that simply plug into standard wall sockets. This will enable you to get rid of energy waste as you will be more conscious of how you use electricity in your home.
2. Kill Phantom Power Leaks
Secondly, it pays to check the power consumption of electronic appliances that are usually on standby mode such as TV’s, Fridges, Microwaves, and home theater entertainment systems which contribute to what is known as phantom power. The cost of an energy monitor can be recovered quickly by locating and stopping these phantom power leaks.
3. Built in Power Timers
A third benefit of using an energy monitor is the fact that there are energy monitor plugs like the Kill-a-Watt P4480 that will automatically turn off electronic appliances that are not in use. These kinds of energy monitors are also equipped with a timer that allow you to set the times you want a particular appliance to stay off, such as when you are out of the house or at night while you’re sleeping.
4. Energy Use Statistics When Shopping for New Appliances
The fourth and final reason energy monitors can be a good investment is that it will enable you to make more informed decisions regarding the type of electrical appliances to buy and replace for your home. Because the energy monitor will indicate the amount of energy a particular appliance consumes, you will be able to know which appliances consume a lot of energy. You can then use this information to compare with the energy consumption rates of different electrical appliance models in the market and find the most energy efficient one. Buying new energy saving electrical appliances to replace existing less efficient ones will can save you money in the long-term.
This guest post was provided by Steve from Personal Finance Blog
Editors note: I’ve used the Killawatt Energy Monitor from Amazon in my quest for low power consumption around the house. Our monthly electric bill averages $40/month, now that we’ve killed the power leaks. Your mileage may vary. Of course, only a highly trained electrician would be able to figure out the exact amount you’d save by utilizing this tool. If you are looking for electrician training courses, be sure to visit http://www.electriciantraininghq.org.