I've been cutting down a lot on my energy usage recently, and I wanted something that would help me see just how much of a difference my efforts were making, so I decided to order a kill-a-watt. When I first received it, I went around my whole house testing out gadgets to see just how much energy they use. I was quite surprised by a lot of items. I have an air purifier that stays on almost 24/7 so I was sure that it was hogging a lot of energy, however I was only using a mere 13 watts! Now I can feel comfortable about leaving it on without worrying about my energy bill.

Now whenever I get a new gadget, I always test it with my kill-a-watt meter so I can set limits on how much I use that gadget. My energy bill has definitely went down since I have been using this, and I am even going to bring it to my mom's house to try to get her to change her energy-draining ways.

My only complaint is that it covers both outlets. I am thinking about ordering the extender to combat this.

To me this little baby is for those you value savings over the long run, just like spending a few bucks to buy a CFL light bulb knowing that in about 3~6 months it'll pay for itself.


What I found effective by using the P3 is that all TV's, dvd players, & audio equipment should be plugged into a power strip... I observed wattage usage as high as 25 watts/hr on stand-bye for a tv, dvd player, and home theater(these are energy star products 2007 & newer). Thats over 575 watts of wasted power a day(assuming you use the equipment 1 hr per day)for a typical living room set. Stand-By Power usage is shocking, & eventually you'll be plugging every device into this meter to see what really is an energy efficient appliance. Energy saving for $200 or more a year(based on a single 3~4 bedroom home) can be had by monitoring energy usage & using simple devices as power strips & programable timers.

It's amazing that such a device hasn't been available on the market 10~20 yrs ago... this would do wonders for former brown-out states(CA in the late 1990's is a perfect example). By purchasing the P3 kill-a-watt, you'll be on your way to being energy conservative, being green, and saving a buck in the process.

As noted by other reviewers, the P3 should have been designed to not cover two outlets and would be better with a short extension cord to allow better placement for readability. But it does deliver power used over tested time, which is what I purchased it for. Advertizing power consumed per week or month, etc. is misleading as either you leave the single device plugged in for the full period, or calculate the proportion constant to get the desired period. Not a hardship, but misleading copy.
Decent value for its intended purpose.

This thing is great! I've been using it to monitor my electric consumption for certain personal appliances in my house so that I can be more accurate about how much I pay for my portion of the electric bills (I live with roommates). It's awesome for just looking at how much electricity is being used on various appliances for long periods of time.

Energy conservation is the most important tool for reducing costly energy consumption and this device is an economical and effective tool as the first step in conservation. It enables a user to determine the amount of electricity a device is using. As a result of its use, we have purchased a new dehumidifier that will pay for itself and the Kill a Watt in less than a year. Suggestions: a 220-volt version and better instructions for using the data from the device to calculate consumption (kWh/hr) for comparison purposes.