Wireless Power Monitors

Many people would have heard of the Queensland governments Climate Smart Home Service (perhaps on the terrible “savin’ bundles!” TV advertisement).  Basically, for $50 an electrician comes to your home, replaces a bunch of light globes with energy saving globes, replaces a shower head, supplies four “standby eliminators” (power off points by remote control), and most importantly installs a wireless energy monitor which gives you a live reading of your energy use now, and over time, and the dollar amount of this use.  I’ve had this service three times now and I strongly recommend it to everyone.  It’s a fantastic way to see how much power your electronic devices are drawing so you can calculate the yearly cost on your power bill.  Check the power use while your PC is on, then when it and the screen are on standby, then when they are completely off.  Connect a standby eliminator to the wall socket your TV, set top box, Austar, DVD drive etc are connected to and switch it off and see the saving.  What may appear a minor reduction in usage ( a normal PC doesn’t actually use very much) adds up over time.  If you are interested in getting the service I would recommend organising it sooner rather than later as the new governments cost cutting measures may hit programs like this.  Book yourself in here:  www.climatesmarthome.com/