5/11: Green Project Continues: The Kill-a-Watt Meter
Students have begun to check out our Kill-a-Watt electricity meters. These devices are used to monitor electricity usage by appliances and electrical items that plug into a standard 120 volt household electrical system. They are extremely simple to use, and parents are also invited to help investigate how the electricity is used at home. Information regarding energy use for individual appliances should be recorded on the Energy Use Log (see sample here).
Using the Kill-a-Watt meter (factory instructions):
1. Plug in the meter to a standard 3-prong electrical socket; the initial reading will show line voltage of your home's electrical system. It should read in the neighborhood of 120 volts (here at school it shows 121.4 volts).
2. Plug in the selected appliance or power strip and turn it on.
3. Press the middle button of the Kill-a-Watt meter and it will show how many watts that item uses. If you push the same button again, VA will appear. Please make sure you are reading the "Watt" information; record the watts that the item or appliance uses on the Energy Use Log.
4. Please note that on the energy use log (click here to see a sample) column 2 calls for kW (kilowatts), but we're looking for watts used (we can convert and calculate the remaining columns later).
This electricity use log should be completed as soon as practical, but is due no later than Tuesday, May 25. The Kill-a-Watt meter can be left plugged into devices to monitor power usage for an extended period of time. The purple button on the far right will alternate the display between cumulative energy used and elapsed time that the meter has been plugged in. Please note that this cumulative summary and elapsed time automatically reset to ZERO each time the Kill-a-Watt meter is unplugged.
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