P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Meter Review

How much does that computer cost you when it runs constantly? Find out with the Kill A Watt.

Aug 3 2011, 1:44pm CDT | by Shane McGlaun

P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Meter Review

Today I am checking out the P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Meter. I'll just call the gadget the Kill A Watt from now on. The Kill A Watt has been around for a while but I thought with the summer here and electricity bills soaring all around the country this was a product worth looking at. Read on for all for the details on the Kill A Watt.

Gallery

3 images

Specifications

The Kill A Watt is a device that plugs into your electrical outlet and has one outlet on the front. Whatever you plug into the front outlet on the Kill A Watt device can be read by the machine to see how much power the device draws. The Kill A Watt has a number of settings to allow you to read different usage types. The Kill A Watt measures 5.1" L x 1.6" T x 2.4" W and sells for under $20.

In Use

With the focus on being green and saving money, many are trying to cut back on any device that slurps power that they don’t need connected. Some devices draw power ever when turned off and you have no way of knowing it without some sort of device like the Kill A Watt. I used the Kill A Watt to check how much power my notebook draws at the outlet in watts. I found out that it sucks about 10W of power just sitting there doing nothing and when turned on and streaming video it draws nearly 40 watts of power.

The cool part about that is that you can see what draws power when you aren't using the item and unplug it. The DOE figures that about 20% of the electricity we use in our homes is wasted power on items we think are turned off. The Kill A Watt will help you find those devices using power that don’t need to be.

The Kill A Watt can also tell you other things in addition to how many watts your device is drawing. The device can calculate all sorts of figures to allow you to figure out exactly how much it costs you to leave your computer on all the time or what that old refrigerator costs you to run each month. This very cool little gadget can help you decide what old appliances to replace first.

The Kill A Watt is easy to use an all you need to do is plug it into an outlet and then plug something into the Kill A Watt outlet. It’s not perfect though, the Kill A Watt is very large. You will not be able to use the Kill A Watt in an outlet with anything else plugged in. The box is so long that it will overhang the outlet above or below no matter how you plug it in. You can use the Kill A Watt plugged into a surge strip as well. You can also use the Kill A Watt to figure out if all the outlets in a home are working and to find out what the voltage at your outlet is as well.

Verdict

Pros

Easy to use
Helps you save money

Cons

Too large for some outlets

Conclusion

The Kill A Watt is a very cool gadget that people looking to cut electricity use will really like.

9.0

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Shane McGlaun
Leading our review center, Shane knows technology inside out. His extensive experience in testing computer hardware and consumer electronics enable him to effectively qualify new products and trends. If you want us review your product, please contact Shane.
Shane can be contacted directly at shane@i4u.com.