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: Great product
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, I'd like to say how pleasurable it is to shop online here at Amazon.com. The whole buying and shipping process is always a breeze and I hardly shop anywhere else online now.
I purchased and moved to a new-to-me house recently and as part of the moving process, decided to reevaluate a couple of our electrical appliances, namely an older 7 cuft chest freezer of unknown vintage and a five year old 18 cuft refrigerator. Enter the "P3 International P4460 Kill A Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor".
I found the monitor easy to setup and use, a big plus.
I was certain that we would want to replace the freezer with a more energy efficient one, so used the monitor on it first. After a weeks use in October in admittedly cool weather, the monitor said it was using about $30/year in electricity. I was certain the usage was going to be much higher than that, but was pleased to see it at such a reasonable level. Not Energy Star level, but not bad. This meant I didn't need to buy a new freezer after all saving me a pile of money.
My newer fridge was measured at $24/year, so I get to keep it, as well. Money stays in the bank.
I am very happy with this product. Recommended.
Customer Review: Interesting Device
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a high school student and I purchased this device to help me with a physics project where I had to calculate the amount of electricity I used in my household per month. I know that I use far more electricity on my desktop than my laptop, but I didn't know that I spend over 200 watts on my desktop to a mere 25 watt on my laptop. Now I know why my electric bills are through the roof! No more leaving my desktop overnight to torrent haha.
I would recommend buying a power extender that you can plug this device into; it's a HUGE powerstrip space hogger. I had to unplug every outlet in it's vicinity to make room for it's gargantuan body. Make sure that the power extender is rated 13 amps - 15 amps, or else you can damage your parts or even start a fire! If you're just checking the wattage of a simple appliance such as a fan, the amperage wouldn't really matter much, but if you're measuring three monitors and a desktop simultaneously (guilty as charged), then I would not suggest using a cheapo power extender.
In summary, this device does what it does. It's a worthy investment down the road, as well as a fun toy to play around with. I certainly had fun learning how much wattage each electrical device in my household used.
Customer Review: Useful concept but product arrived defective
Summary: 3 Stars
The P3 International P4460 electricity usage monitor is a cool idea and a potentially useful device, but to my disappointment, mine arrived with a major defect: the second-rightmost digit in the LED display doesn't work. So I can't discern the number the device is displaying. This defect affects all of the device's operating modes equally. Now I will have to get the defective unit replaced. I'll reserve my final rating until I see a fully functional unit.
By the way, as others have pointed out, the lack of power cord and a difficult-to-read display (due to lack of backlighting) are shortcomings of the product, along with certain other inconveniences reported in some of the reviews. Personally, I can live with these problems, but I can't live with the display defect my particular unit has. The display visibility problem can, at worst, be remedied by shining a flashlight on the display. The lack of a power cord and the limitations with respect to being able to plug the unit into some outlets (due to its size and shape) can be addressed by using a short, 3-conductor extension cord between the P4460 and the wall or other outlet. I have a little extension cord that's about 15 inches long -- perfect for this application.
Customer Review: P3 International P4460 Electricity Usage Monitor
Summary: 4 Stars
I give it **** because it could use a few improvements.
NOT because it didn't perform as expected.
Bottom line - great device. Works exactly as advertised.
I would recommend it to anyone interested in getting a
handle on actual electricity consumption and costs.
Best feature: The ability to enter your own actual cost per KwH
as taken from your utility bill.
Worst Feature: No battery backup for reading the collected data once
unplugged from the wall outlet. You have to plug the unit
back into the wall outlet to read the collected data.
Suggestions to the manufacturer:
1. Add a battery so the display can be read when not plugged in.
2. Include a short 12-14 inch extension cord so that you don"t have
crane your neck when reading the device while plugged into the wall
outlet. Some outlets are only 12-24 inches off the floor.
3. Make it 110/220 capable for 220V appliances.
4. Add a memory feature with a USB port to download and plot the data
over time in a spreadsheet.
5. Keep the price the same :-)
Customer Review: Kill A Watt P4460 Evaluation
Summary: 5 Stars
I was originally going to buy the P4400, but for just a few bucks more, this P4460 calculates the overall cost of using an appliance for you (you have to input in your utility charge per kwh).
This is a very good product overall. I have been using it to calculate daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly costs for my various appliances and anything that plugs into a 110V outlet. It really helps in understanding the largest electricity users in your house. This allows you to make intelligent decisions on how best to lower your electricity costs. For items with intermittent use, I leave it plugged into the device for several days or weeks.
One slight negative item is that it does block usage of one outlet when you plug it into a wall outlet. I have solved that problem by using an extension cord (rated for the appliance I am measuring). The extension cord is also good where the outlet is blocked by the appliance (such as a refrigerator).
Before purchasing, I evaluated a few other devices like this one, but it was hard to beat the price (shop around on the internet). Plus, this product was determined to be very accurate according to a leading consumer magazine (initials CR).