labs LABS
plenty
Device The Wattson
Maker DIY Kyoto
Price under $200, diykyoto.
com
How it works Clip one part to
your electricity meter and then
leave the other on your kitchen
or coffee table. It wirelessly
transmits your total electricity
usage in watts or dollars-peryear to the table unit, so you
can see how your costs go up
or down as you turn various
devices on and off.
ELECTRIC SHOCK
These new devices help you track—
and reduce—excess energy usage
In our gadget-filled world, it’s all too easy to waste electricity.
Devices like DVD players and printers have been dubbed household
vampires because they suck up almost as much juice whether they’re
on or off. Cell phone and other chargers often stay plugged in, draining electricity even when they’re not in use. Then there are the computers and air conditioners that we could turn off when we aren’t
using them, but for the sake of convenience, we don’t.
These electrical indulgences add up. The US Department of
Energy estimates that 75 percent of home electronics energy consumption occurs while those devices are off. And the Cornell University Cooperative Extension suspects that the typical home has
about 20 such vampires.
Fortunately, new products are being designed to help you monitor
your electricity usage. Here’s a look at the current trend.
—Eileen Gunn
Device The Kill A Watt EZ
Maker P3 International
Corporation
Price $60,
p3international.com
How it works Plug it into your
outlet; then plug in an appliance
or electronic device. Based on
pricing data you feed it from
your electric bill, it can tell you
how much the item may cost
you on a daily, weekly, monthly,
or yearly basis. Leave it plugged
in for a running tally: A quick
survey of my own home showed
that gadgets I wasn’t actively
using could account for more
than half my bill.
Device The Home Joule
Maker Consumer Powerline
Price under $100,
consumerpowerline.com
How it works Colored lights
tell you when local electricity
rates—which fluctuate throughout
the day—are at their highest and
lowest, so you can do laundry offhours and use your AC discerningly. A blue light tells you when
local usage is approaching critical
mass—say during a heat wave—
so you can power down and
help prevent brownouts. In the
future, if your local utility chooses
to join the company’s program,
your electricity sacrifices may be
rewarded with discounts, credits,
cash, or freebies.
When your computer runs out of memory, upgrading to a
whole new system isn’t the most environmentally sensitive
option. That’s where the Hitachi Deskstar P7K500—billed
as the world’s most energy efficient desktop drive—comes in.
The unit is up to 59 percent more efficient than comparable
250-gigabyte hard drives currently on the market, and it
whittles down both active and idle PC power consumption by
more than 40 percent from Hitachi’s previous generation of hard drives.
Look for models for both personal computers and your big, honking office
power drainer. $159.99, hitachi.us —Mike Dolan
90 | february-march 2008
photo by Toby Summerskill (top left)
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