P3 International P4460 Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor
by P3 INTERNATIONAL
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List Price: Our Price: $22.41 You Save: $37.54 (63%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $18.00 (click here) Category: Tools See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of P3 International P4460 Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor
Customer Review: Useful, Works
Summary: 4 Stars
This unit is useful and works as spec'd. However it needs some usability improvements:
- LCD needs more legibility - provide backlighting and larger lettering for units of measurements (KWH etc); Perhaps just 'raising' the LCD out of the display 'window well' would help legibility.
- Needs a 'detachable' power cable instead of a fixed 3-prong. I'd suggest the standardized cable/connector approaches of a PC or the AC adapter/power supply of laptops. The first thing a user must do currently, with this unit is to hunt for a safe and proper extension cord - i.e. it is not quite plug and play!
- Needs to be ruggedized - along the lines of the Reliance Amwatt Appliance Load Tester; all the shoving, stretching and drops behind bulky appliances can't be too good for its reliability and lifespan.
Customer Review: Electricity Usage Monitor
Summary: 4 Stars
This product is easy to use and provides useful information for energy-conscious consumers. It shows the actual energy usage & cost for any 120v appliance. For instance, I found that my TV/Cable Box combination used more energy than the refrigerator! You can also use it to compare the energy usage of CFL (compact flourescent) bulbs vs standard incandescent bulbs (and yes CFL's do use much less energy).
The only issue I found is that you can't use this device to monitor 208/220v appliances (such as electric stoves, water heaters & clothes dryers). These are probably the highest usage appliances in the average house. To be fair, the monitor is neither designed nor advertised for this purpose.
Overall however, I would certainly recommend this device.
Customer Review: Slick Unit, Easy to Use
Summary: 5 Stars
The P3 Kilo-A-Watt unit is very easy to use and helped me understand the energy usage in my house.
I had a De-humidifier that was using up to $48/Month!
My spare freezer in the garage is using $7/Month.
My electric motorcycle uses less than $.01/mile (see www.schultzengineering.us/ebike.htm).
Some people said it was hard to see the display, but I had no problems reading it because I plugged the P4460 into a power strip, an extension cord into the P4460, and the appliance being monitored into the extension cord.
Also, the unit retains the cost per Kilowatt hour when unplugged so it doesn't need to be reprogrammed between each use as another reviewer indicated.
Customer Review: Should have bought it sooner!
Summary: 5 Stars
I kept putting off buying something to measure electrical usage in devices and then finally broke down and purchased the P3. With the cost of electricity going thru the roof, this tool will help me identify where my money is going. I should have bought it sooner. It provides a very accurate readout on what it costs to run a device per hour ... day ... week ... month .... year. Don't believe the charts and info provided by companies stating "cost pennies a day" to run. Most times it's BALONEY. See for yourself with this device. Biggest surprise so far has been the cost in operating very similiar devices produced by different manufacturers which vary by as much as 50%. Knowing this helps me make intelligent decisions. Best of LuckCustomer Review: Inadequate display
Summary: 3 Stars
The display on this device is absolutely unreadable except in bright light. It has next to no visual contrast (black on dark grey), and very small lettering for the units being monitored. It's like a '70's style geek digital watch face (I had one of those). Now that we're in the 21st century, it should have an LED display, or some back lighting. Even Timex has figured out how to solve this problem.
The meter reads what it's supposed to and, as everyone has said, is easier to use with an extension cord. I'm on a mission to find our power hogs, and we're trying to decide whether a new fridge would be worth the expense, so this device will be a big help for us. It's great that you can enter your own utility rates.