Check out a meter to check your home energy use

How much energy does your computer use when it’s sleeping?  How much is it costing to use that extra refrigerator in your garage?

Find out the answers to these and other questions by checking out a Power Check energy meter.  You can plug the meter into home appliances to learn how much energy they’re using.

The meters work on any standard 120-volt electric appliance and are easy to use. They measure voltage, electricity cost and electric consumption. They are available for checkout (Place a hold on a Power Check meter now!) through a partnership between Xcel Energy and the Minot Public Library.  Library Staff will call you when the next Power Check meter is available.  Stop in at the library if you need to sign up for a library card and to place a hold. 

You can determine the operating cost of appliances like refrigerators, computers or electric space heaters and then predict your savings by reducing energy use.  You also can learn how much you could save by replacing older appliances with energy-efficiency models. In some cases the cost of a new appliance pays for itself in energy savings over time.

And, you’ll discover which appliances are your worst ‘energy vampires’ – those appliances that use energy even when they’re off.

Americans’ use of energy at home is 19 times greater than it was 1949, according to the International Energy Agency. This tool can help you reverse that trend in your own home.

A Power Check meter is accurate and easy to use.  You’ll have the ability to download data to your computer for graphing and charting.  The payback calculator automatically determines the number of months needed to recover the costs of a new energy efficient appliance.

For further tips on saving energy, you may also want to check out an Xcel Energy DVD entitled “Using Energy at Home.” (Place a hold on DVD at Library!) You may also want to browse our additional resources on energy conservation in the Library online catalog (Link to energy conservation in the Library  catalog) or explore more energy saving ideas (EnergySMART Library) from Xcel energy.  Some other terms to search in the Library Catalog are energy efficiency, energy savings, green living, and sustainable living.