Green Tuesday: Kill a Watt, Save a Buck

This week's green tip from the California Association of Realtors can save you some $$$. Your home probably has appliances and machines or plugs that "suck" electricity or use electricity on a constant basis with no benefit to you, machines such as old refrigerators, printers, chargers for portable devices, and so on. One way to identify these amperage-sucking "vampires" is to connect these devices to the Kill-a-WattTM Electricity Usage Monitor (it retails for approximately $24). The Kill-a-WattTM unit's large LCD display counts consumption by the kilowatt-hour, the same as your local utility. You can calculate your electrical expenses by the day, week, month, or year and evaluate your appliances' efficiency. You'll know if it's time for a new refrigerator or if that old air conditioner is cost-efficient. Live green, live long!