Electric Meters:  Cost and Effect

• Black and Decker

• Provides real-time and cumulative power use data.
• Displays energy use in kilowats or dollars per hour.
• Estimates monthly power bill based on average energy use.
• Wireless link between sensor and base station.

• $100 MSRP, less than half that at many on-line retailers.
• Pricing as of 2012.

• Energy Saver Series Power Monitor

• Get Black and Decker contact information plus see product stories we've published about the company.

It provides real-time information on how much energy you are using and how much it is costing you. That gives a good picture of which appliances and light fixtures are power hogs.

The monitor consists of two parts: a weatherproof sensor that affixes to your power meter and a digital base station. Once the sensor unit is mounted, it sends power usage data to the base station wirelessly.

The base station can display current energy usage in kilowatts or dollars per hour. It also keeps track of how much energy has been used since the beginning of the month and provides an estimate of what the electricity bill will be at the end of the month based on average energy use.

The monitor unit is compatible with most electric meters with a visible spinning wheel or an optical data port.