Kill-a-Watt Meter: Creating an accurate loads list for off-grid solar

[@POLLOTROM]

This is the video I was looking for! Thank you!

[@archangele1]

I remember reading an article called 'energy vampires' and it was amazing how all these appliances use up a ton of energy even when not in use due to stand by circuits. Older units were completely disconnected from power when their power switch was turned off. No so today's stuff like TV's, radios, microwaves and the like. If it has a little led light glowing anywhere, it is pulling a few watts and is not really off but in stand by. Many computers draw a ton of power when turned off. I now have mine on a power strip and when I leave the house, I just turn the power strip's switch off, completely disconnecting all the devices from power. It may only save about $5 - 10 a month, but I'd rather have that in my pocket then to give it to the power company. And for the stuff on my solar power setup, I am not wasting battery capacity by leaving these power leaches on 24x7.

[@angeloeduardo1112]

You probably dont care at all but does anyone know of a way to log back into an instagram account? I somehow lost the login password. I appreciate any tips you can offer me.

[@aresspencer7833]

@Angelo Eduardo Instablaster =)

[@angeloeduardo1112]

@Ares Spencer thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site through google and im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. I see it takes quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.

[@angeloeduardo1112]

@Ares Spencer it did the trick and I now got access to my account again. I am so happy:D Thanks so much you saved my account !

[@aresspencer7833]

@Angelo Eduardo No problem :D

[@FrancisOpoku]

Do you sell kill-a-watt on your online store?

[@AltEStore]

+Francis Opoku Yes we do, 3 different models. You can see them here, www.altestore.com/store/meters-communications-site-analysis/meters-battery-monitors/power-meters-c631/?brand=P3+International+%28Kill-A-Watt%29

[@FrancisOpoku]

+altE Store can either the P4400 or P4482 be used on a 240 volts outlet?? If not can you advice on one that can. Thank you

[@AltEStore]

+Francis Opoku Thank you for bringing that up, I forgot to mention it. The KillaWatt meters only work on 120V 60Hz. I'll look to see if I can find an international one.

[@FrancisOpoku]

Ooh OK. Thanks

[@AltEStore]

+Francis Opoku You can Google "EU energy monitor" and several products come up. I haven't used any of them, so I can't recommend which one to use, but you can see online reviews for them. Thanks again for catching that, we try to make our videos internationally acceptable, I have added a note in the videos that this is only for 120V 60Hz.

[@nbookie]

we started doing this a few months back after a few generator guys tried selling me 30k genset or 10k solar with massive battery banks and inverters. we got to killawatt plugs on amaxon for 22 bucks total and also picked up a "current cost" whole house monitor for $35. we now know that our house only ever hits more than 2kw when the ac kicks on and that's only about 5kw a day max with instant reading around 4.5kw. so we now have a MUCK smaller system that is kicking but!!! we have also cut our daily use by more than 10kw by watching the numbers everyday (whole house monitors sits on the coffee table). 10kw cut translates to $30 a month savings for us. so the meters paid for them self in 60 days and that's $360 a year saved!!! that's awsome!!!

[@AltEStore]

+nbookie Knowledge is power!

[@chipper2462]

I like Amy.....:)

[@martinwhite418]

I miss Amy.

[@ChrisDIYerOklahoma]

Cool. .05 KW/h x .18 cents = .009 cents (or 9/10 of one penny). Nice.

[@marksweeney5203]

.009 dollars

[@bill767667]

jeez,our gadgets use alot of power

[@White_King]

How the hell am I going to measure my computers?! They consume a different measure every time, when they are turning on when they are idle, when they are gaming, processing and I use it ALL DAY Long every day for different tasks.

[@MrSmitheroons]

Your comment is a year old, but I thought I'd answer in case anyone still wants to know... First, you can open Task Manager to see what programs are running and using your CPU and GPU and to lesser extent using your disks and RAM. Look at the "Power" columns if you're on Windows 10 or 11, it should show you which programs are using the most power. Then, with all programs closed (and maybe quitting / ending background tasks if they're using a lot of power) measure with a watt meter when no programs are running and using up your CPU/GPU, none using your system resources. Just sitting at the desktop doing nothing. This would be "idle" power draw, and it would be the minimum. Then, run a demanding program on the CPU. Like Aida64/Prime95. This can generate maximum power draw on your CPU for a "worst-case scenario". You can run FurMark for a similar "worst-case scenario" stress test on your GPU to draw just about the most power it is capable of. Lastly, you can try to run both Prime95 and FurMark at the same time, but I hope your power supply is high wattage or this might over-stress your power supply -- it would be a lot more watts than gaming, most likely. This is the "maximum power draw" your PC can use at one time. For a gaming test, try opening a game with an in-game benchmark mode, and looking at power readings then. Or measure with your character standing still and not a lot happening, vs measuring again when a lot is happening. You might also be curious how much power it draws while asleep or totally shut down, so feel free to measure that as well. These amounts of power would be different based on the task that's running, based on how high-powered the parts you bought are (more powerful = more watts, usually), and based on how efficient the CPU, GPU and power supply all are. There is no "one true reading" for how much power your system always uses, it's different per task. But you can ask how often you're just web browsing (not so much power) vs gaming (more power) vs PC is asleep (much fewer watts) or off (hopefully just a few watts or less?)... Yep. A little complicated, but PCs are complicated in the many different things they can do, so it kinda makes sense IMO.