Power Cost Monitor

Did you know that a Power Cost Monitor can be checked out of the library?  A Power Cost Monitor will enable you to determine how much energy you consume at any time during the day or night and how much energy each of your appliances is adding to your bill.  How much can you save by replacing incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent or LED bulbs?  How much energy is used drying a load of laundry?  How much money will an energy-efficient appliance save on your PSE bill?  The monitor will also help educate everyone in the family about how they can help reduce home energy consumption and what impact it will have on the family budget.

How do you get one of these monitors?  Simple - go the Bainbridge Public Library and check one of them out.  The check-out requires a bit more information than checking out a book, but not much.  How long can you keep it?  The check-out period is 3 weeks.

Does the monitor require technical skills to install?  Does someone have to hook it up to our electrical lines?  No, the monitor installation is simple and requires no special skills or knowledge.  The only tool required is a small screw-driver.  There is no connection to your electrical line and no need to open any electrical boxes or outlets.  Installation assistance is available if needed from Bainbridge Island Energy Challenge.

The monitor consists of two pieces of equipment: an outdoor device which slips onto your power meter (see photo left) and measures what the meter says you are consuming at any point in time; and an indoor LCD screen (see photo right) which wirelessly communicates with the device on your meter and displays your current energy consumption in KW, your cummulative consumption in KWHrs, and the cost in dollars and cents.  The energy cost value shown on the indoor monitor uses current 2-tier Puget Sound Energy rates for Bainbridge Island.  There are settings to help you measure the consumption of individual appliances such as dryers, refrigerators, heating systems, etc so you can see where your energy goes.

It is truly an informational tool.