Detecting electronics and appliances that gobble up energy is as easy as dropping by Red Deer Public libraries.
Four Kill A Watt energy meters will be available for three-week loans from the downtown library and two will be available at the Dawe branch starting June 3.
Purchased by the city’s Electric, Light and Power Department at a cost of about $40 each, the metres will allow people to do their own energy audits so they can become more energy efficient.
“The average person is not going to go out and buy a Kill A Watt, nor do you need one in your house all the time.
“The library is the perfect venue for something like this,” said Lauren Maris, environmental program specialist with the City of Red Deer.
“We’re seeing lots of opportunities for students and not-for-profit agencies and all sorts of different groups to be able use these to make their operations as efficient as possible.”
A Kill a Watt is plugged into electrical outlet and then the electronics or appliance is plugged into the Kill A Watt to monitor electricity use.
“It tells you how much electricity the device uses when it’s running and when it’s turned off so it’s great for identifying phantom loads.”
When Maris plugged in the Kill A Watt at her home she was surprised by how much energy her computer and printer used.
“It was enough for me to go and get myself a power bar and plug all my devices into it and turn it off when I was finished.”
She also bought a power bar for her entertainment centre.
“I think it’s an interesting thing to do as a family, to go through your home and be a bit of a phantom-load detective and find out what things are drawing energy that you wouldn’t even think about.”
A similar program has been run successfully through the Calgary Public Library for several years, she said.
Red Deer’s Kill A Watt program is part to the city’s action phase for its Environmental Master Plan, meant to streamline city-wide environmental actions and initiatives, improve the City of Red Deer’s environmental performance, and increase environmental awareness among staff and residents.
“If (Kill A Watt) is a hit, we’d be happy to continue to support it.”
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com