Kill A Watt EZ - Consumption Meter

[Cr0cket20]

That's a great idea. I've often wondered what is the biggest energy gobbler in the house.

[kookiemoose]

mmm...Granola

[steintanz]

... good device for sure.

Is it possible at your place to choose the electricity supplier you prefer or is there only one monopolist on power? Here it's very simple to select the power supplier you like best, e.g. regenerative power production etc.

[usframe]

@steintanz there are some choices, but nothing that would cause me to investigate deeper at this time.

[drzmanproject]

wait, no club???? I love how practical your practical vids are

[thawkins426]

Now you can see what your fan club is costing. Cool gadget.

[rchopp]

It sounds as though your monitor might benefit from one of your computer cooling sessions, heat bad.. lol

[usframe]

@rchopp lol, no shortage of stuff to "cool" off around here

[TheAZexplorer]

Great video. I sell and build IT and data centers to the government and Fortune 500 companies. Power is the number one concern (after security) and cost. Same is true for homes. I just hope technology like Bloom Boxes (Google is using them) and fusion take off. Thanks for posting.

[ArtisanTony]

I have NABCEP training and you are correct. I would have thought by now that solar panels would be more efficient. I have a video of one of the solar studies we did and my company is set up to design and install but the market is not that good. It is good to see these types of products on the market.

[usframe]

@ArtisanTony yeah, Jared was being very generous with the 10 yr to recoup costs. I truly wish it was something we could use much more than we do.

[ArtisanTony]

@usframe Yes, most of the studies we have done show between 20 -25 years for return on investment.

[GunWebsites]

What an awesome device.. seems like if we had switches in the wall above our outlets, we could shut off power easily and save a few bucks

Or perhaps smarter power strips that could toggle power on & off to their various outlets

Don't write off all solar yet.. there is always solar hot water

[usframe]

@GunWebsites I built solar panels for hot water 30 or so yrs ago. Thinking of doing some "mini" system with that, again That power strip in the vid has a control receptacle. When the item in there is turned off, so go the other devices plugged into the strip. This one is not functioning properly, though. Want to borrow the Kill A Watt?

[Straften]

I live in the city though

[usframe]

@Straften right, some situations make it difficult, plus we were looking at moblie, and of course to not be "tied" to the system.

[Straften]

Solar grid tie ftw

[ristin59]

With the hours I work (4pm to 4am), I'm gone from home up to 16 hours a day.

I've my electronics plugged into surge protected power bars. That way when I'm out of the house, all I have to do is switch off the power bar and that powers down everything plugged into it.

[usframe]

@ristin59 that works well with larger spans of time

[beast12101]

great little product

[windflags]

Al Gore invented the Kill O Watt, and has a couple of thousand in his home!

[usframe]

@windflags lol, now, that is a name on our "no fly" list, but we shall allow it this time in the spirit of sarcasm!

[HawkLMT]

Totally with you on this one. It is amazing how much electricity we leach out of every corner and nook and cranny of our homes. I think the only way to make solar or wind effective is to tie it directly back to the grid, but I am far from educated on the matter. I don't believe in government subsidizing, but I think the power companies could work with the public a bit better.

[usframe]

@HawkLMT not only that, many communities do not allow structures such as solar arrays and mills on residential properties. Same goes for washlines, and even flagpoles.

[HawkLMT]

@usframe That is proof that we all need to be involved on local levels.

[steintanz]

@usframe We had similar discussions several years ago - sooner or later "it" becomes normal.

[mysciencenow]

they are about to put a 400 megawatt solar farm in the county i live in here in n.c

[CampfireTalk]

You never know what video will come next out of the USframe crew channel. Great topic fellas.

I think anytime I read a report on saving money on the electric bill there is always the tip of unplugging cell phone chargers. Phone chargers will constantly draw even when you're not charging your phone much like the computer speakers you mentioned.

[midmiwildcrafter]

a grid tie system requires no batteries makes solar and wind a more viable option depending on your state laws.

[usframe]

@midmiwildcrafter yes, if possible that is most cost effective. We were thinking in the lines of hobbyist/power failure

[Pir8AdventureLeague]

I just use a million hamsters on wheels to power my house. They eat a lot of food, but they make great manure!

[usframe]

@Pir8AdventureLeague will squirrels work as well?

[weaponeer]

I have one as well for use with my portable solar pannels, and anything plugged into the inverter.

[usframe]

@weaponeer do you have anything posted on your system?

[weaponeer]

@usframe - not yet. mine is just a portable single battery setup that I can connect 3 large folding solar pannels and drap them over the van. the purpose is to allow me to have 115V power where ever I need it without needing to take the generator. this way I have power for camping if needed (for charging as well as added lights), and the shooting range, for Laptop, high speed camera, lights, and wireless audio (as well as charging).

[usframe]

@weaponeer that is the sort of stuff we were thinking about, too. Thanks for dropping in.

[weaponeer]

@usframe - next year I hope to add a couple more batteries, and mount them in my small cargo trailer, with waterproof outlets on the outside. on the inside I plan on having a rack for a wind generator, and poles, and a roll on tire stand. so I roll up, remove the stand, roll over it for a stable base, add the poles and generator, and I'll be setup for portable 1,000 watt power system that sets up in 15 minutes. great for off the grid power generation.