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Home -> Resources -> Twenty-One Green IT Tips -> 2. Measure Electricity Usage
2. Measure Electricity Usage Perhaps you have made the choice to become more "energy efficient." For a start, you might turn off lights, computers, and other appliances when you are not using them. There are, of course, many electrical devices in addition to computer equipment. How do you decide where to find potential energy savings? Our answer is this: measure electricity usage. Web search:  electricity usage
Ways to Measure Electricity Usage You use a thermometer to measure temperature and a scale to measure weight. How to measure electricity usage? You can use a power meter. There are many kinds available, from high-end meters to inexpensive meters that work quite well. Web search: power meter
One very popular (and inexpensive) power meter is the "Kill-A-Watt(tm)". It has a fun-sounding name that suggests its main design goal: eliminate wasted watts. Here is a picture of a pair of Kill-A-Watt meters, plugged into a power strip:  In case anyone is curious, both of these power meters are set up to show watts. The one on the left is connected to a computer monitor (Samsung SyncMaster 731B). The meter on the right is connected to a desktop computer, which has an ASUS motherboard and AMD processor. There is also a second monitor connected to this system; that middle space is whisper too narrow to accommodate another power meter, otherwise there would have been another one in the picture. Web search: Kill-A-Watt
What A Power Meter Can Tell You Power Meters can measure several things for you. If you are not sure which one to pay attention to, see the next section titled About Electrical Units. A power meter often gives you the following information:
Volts. To understand what power meters tell you, it helps to understand some electrical terms. The term "volt" is pretty common, as it appears on batteries (for example, "1.5 volt batteries). You also encounter volts when you read the fine-print on household appliances; in the U.S.A, 110 volts is standard, whereas in Europe, 220 volts is standard. While it is good to know about volts, volts do not reveal electricity usage. Web search: volt electrical unit
Amperes. Another common electrical term is amperes (or, sometimes, just amps). Circuit-breakers have a rating in amps, and that describes how much current the circuit is able to support. Perhaps you have had the experience of having a circuit breaker "pop" when (for example) running a microwave oven, a vacuum cleaner, and a hair dryer on the same cicuit? When the breaker pops, it is acting to protect you from bad things happening (such as the wires melting, or even catching fire). Houses often have circuits that are rated at 15 or 20 ampere lights and plugs. Circuits with higher amps (25 or 30 amps) support electric stovs, dishwashers, and washing machines. Power meters can often amperes, and in some cases this can be a useful thing to know (especially when dealing with circuit breakers). Web search: amperes
The standard unit for measuring power output is the next one we discuss, namely watts. Watts are the interesting unit. The mathematical equation for calculating watts is as follows: Web search: watt electrical unit
Watt-Hours. Watts are interesting because your electrical utility charges you based on the watts used. In addition to measuring how many watts you use, your home power meter also measures how long you used that many watts. When you add the length of time element, the measurement is referred to as watt-hours. If you ran a lamp with 100 watt bulb in it for an entire 24-hour period, you would use 2,400 watt-hours. If you kept that light-bulb on for an entire (30-day) month, you would use 72,000 watt-hours. Web search: Watt Hours
Kilowatt-Hours. When you read your electrical bill, you will see that your electrical utility does not actually charge you in watt-hours. Instead, it uses a unit that is 1,000 times as large - also known as the kilowatt-hour. If you look at the numbers above, you can see why. Instead of charging yoiu for 72,000 watt-hours, it is easier to charge you for 72 kilowatt-hours. If you do the math, you can see that one kilowatt is equal to 1000 watts. Web search: Kilowatt Hours
Another Example. If you ran a 1000 watt hair dryer for one hour, your electrical utility would charge you one (1) kilowatt hour (or 1000 watt-hours). If you ran the hair dryer for 24 hours (hopefully not pointed at your head the entire time), your electrical utility would charge you for 24 kilowatt hours. And how much would you expect to pay for that? It depends on where you live and what your utility charges you. Based on the average rate (11.28 cents per kilowatt hour), you would expect to pay around $2.71. Electricity is a remarkably affordable resource. |
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