kill a watt™ p4400 operating instructions step two: energy...
TRANSCRIPT
KILLAWATT™P4400OperatingInstructionsCongratulations!YouarenowtheproudrenterofaKillAWatt™wattmeter.Obtainingyourwattmeteristhefirststeptowardsbecomingmoreawareoftheenergyyouconsumeonadailybasis.Whyshouldyoucareaboutyourpersonalenergyuse? PennStateUniversitycampusesconsume
acombined300millionkilowatthours(kWh)ofelectricityannually.Thisistheequivalentoftheamountofelectricityusedbyover23,000homesperyear.
UniversityParkenergyconsumptionaccountsforabout80%ofthetotalenergyconsumptionfromallcampuses.
Althoughtherehavebeenreductionsinenergyusage,electricitycostsfortheUniversitynearlydoubledfromthe2008to2009rateduetothephaseoutofratecaps.PennState’selectricitybilltotals$2millioneachmonth.
AsapartofthePennStatecommunity,weareallaffectedbythesecosts,aswellastheenvironmentalcostsoftheintensivefossilfuelconsumption.
Whatexactlyisawattmeter?Awattmeterisadevicethatenablesconsumerstoreaddirectlyhowmuchpowerappliancesareconsuming.Wattmetersprovideinformationonelectricityusageofappliances,whichcanbeusedtocalculateenergycosts.Followthesestepstounderstandwhatyourwattmeteristellingyou.
StepOne:Plugyourwattmeterintoanelectricoutlet.Thenplugtheapplianceyouwishtomonitorintothefaceofthewattmeter.
StepTwo:Readandunderstandtheoutputofthewattmeter.OnthefrontofthewattmeteryouwillseesixbuttonswiththelabelsVolt,Amp,Watt/VA,Hz/PF,andKWh/Hour.Inthephotograph,thebuttonshavebeennumberedtocorrespondtothefollowingfivedescriptions.Whenyoupressthesebuttons,thenumberthatappearsonthescreenisexpressedintheunitcorrespondingtothatbutton.
1. Volt—thevoltisaunitofelectricalpotential.ThevoltageofmosthouseholdelectricoutletsintheUnitedStatesis120V,sowhenyouplugyourwattmeterintoanelectricoutlet,thevoltreadingwillbeanumberverycloseto120.
2. Amp—theampisaunitthatmeasureselectriccurrent,tellingusthenumberofelectronsinmotionthroughtheoutletatanygivensecond.
3. Watt/VA—Pressthisbuttononcetoseehowmanywatts,orusefulpowerisbeingtransferredtotheappliancepersecond.Incandescentlightbulbsaretypically60watts,sothatmeansatanygivensecond,60wattsofpowerarerequiredtoilluminatethebulb.PressthisbuttonasecondtimetoseetheVAreading.TheVAreadingisequaltotheproductoftheVoltandAmpreadings;Thisnumberexpressesthetotalpowertransferredbytheelectricconversionper
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secondandwillalwaysbegreaterthantheWattreading(theamountofusefulpower)
4. Hz/PF—PressthiskeyoncetodisplayHz,
orHertz,andtwicetoshowthePowerFactoroftheappliance.Hertzisaunitoffrequencydefinedascyclespersecond.Mostelectricpowerisgeneratedat50or60Hz.PForPowerFactorisanexpressionofefficiencycalculatedbydividingtheWattreadingbytheVAreading(usefulpowerdividedbytotalpowerbeingdrawn)
5. KWh/Hour—PressthepinkKWh/Hourbuttononcetoshowthetotalenergyconsumedsincethewattmeterwaspluggedin.Akilowattisequalto1,000watts.Ifa60wattlightbulbisleftonfor17hours,itwillconsumeroughly1kWhofelectricity(60watts/1,000=.06kWx17hrs=1.02KWh).Pressthisbuttontwicetoshowtheamountoftimethathaspassedsincetheunitwasturnedon,displayedasHours:Minutes.
StepThree:Visithttp://green.psu.edu/resources/tools.asptofindtheOfficeElectricityCalculator.ThecalculatorallowsyoutoentertheKWhandHourinformationcollectedfromyourwattmeterandusesittocalculateelectricitycostsovertheentireyear,andfornightsandweekends.
Or,usingusingtheunitsprovidedbythewattmeter,youcancalculateyourtotalenergyuseandhowmuchitcosts.Energyisbilledperkilowatt‐hour,so:Costofelectricity=Kilowatt‐HourMeterReading(thevalueobtainedbypressingtheKWH/Hourbuttononce)xthepriceyoupayforelectricityYearlyCost=WattReading/1,000xnumberofhoursyouusetheapplianceperweekx52weeksinayearxthepriceyoupayforelectricity*PennStatepays$.085/KWhforelectricityTocalculatehowmuchyouwillsavebyunplugginganapplianceoveraweekendand/orinoffhours:Plugtheapplianceintothefaceofthewattmeter,andplugtowattmeterintothewall.Leaveitpluggedinfortheamountoftimeyouwishtomonitor.Savings=KWhreadingxthepriceyoupayforelectricityCostofelectricityusedinaweek:Leavetheappliancepluggedintothewattmeterforanentireweekoftypicalusage,attheendoftheweekmultiply:YearlyCost=WeeklyelectricityusageinKWHx52xthepriceyoupayforelectricity
KillAWatt™MeterOperatingInstructions
Broughttoyouby:
**AlldatawillbelostwhentheP4400meterisunplugged.Makesurethatyoudonotunplugtheappliancebeforereadingthe
meter.