Incubators and my electricity bill!!

[Whispering Winds]

Quote:
Pretty cool gadget. I found the video on the Today Show website and found out it was a Black and Decker device:

http://blackanddecker.com/energy/Po...PowerMonitor&gclid=CMCuidybmJ4CFQ8eDQodfUIwmA

And, I think we have to take into consideration her costs were based on NY power usuage, and they might be higher when she was comparing what a Dryer (ele) uses . . .but I think what she said was based on what the mfg. said . . .I didn't listen to that part real closely. I just think we all need to beat the electric companies at their own game. One time we found our meter reader using binoculors to read our meter, because he didn't want to get out of the truck. Another time we saw him just drive in, take a look FROM the truck and write something down. This estimating stinks, because they NEVER get it right, and the consumer is the one who always gets the shaft unless you challenge them. The town where we have rent houses "estimates" the water bills from Nov-Feb because if there is snow on the ground, it screws up the meters if they get snow on them. Now, this is what we were told, and in March people get their "adjusted" bill and its a hair raiser to be sure. My theory on estimating is, make it HIGHER and then give the consumer a nice surprise at the end of the estimation period. I think budget billing through Ameren is a rip off too, because no matter how you try to budget, they get you for a chunk about every 3 months. I use the energy effecient bulbs everywhere I can; we need to insulate our attic over the family room, just haven't taken the time or money to do it, but I know that would help our LP usuage. My DH works for Ameren, and he can tell stories about their wasteful ways that just make you sick.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
Your readings made sense. Your calculations didn't. 1 kilowatt-hour (not 1 kilowatt per hour) over 4.5 hours equals an average load of 222 watts over that 4.5 hour period. (1000/4.5). That would be appropriate for a 250 watt heating element bringing the incubator up to temperature.

If it continued at that rate, you would use an additional 1 kWh every 4.5 hours for a total of 5.3 kwh at the end of a 24 hour period. At a rate of $0.13 per kWh you would be spending $0.69 a day to run the incubator. Obviously it wouldn't continue at that rate. Once it overcomes the thermal mass of the incubator and the egg load the power consumption would go down. For accurate measurement you would need to run the meter for the first 24 hours with an egg mass in place and record consumption. Then record a second 24 hour period with the incubator stabilized. As long as the room temperature doesn't vary much, your consumption for each of the remaining 19 days should be roughly the same as the second day.

 

[muddstopper]

The meter we use measures in Watts, but recorded measurements are displayed in KW. I think my mistake was simply not seeing a decimal point where there probably was one. The bad thing is I am usually pretty good in math and am suprised I didnt realize the mistake when writeing these posts. I should have caught the KW versus W mistake. Dang, I hate not being perfect. Anyways, I'll double check again when I get a chance.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
What brand of meter is it? Are you talking about something like a "Kill A Watt" meter? Maybe I'm not understanding something here, but there are only a couple of power measurements that these meters give that we can use here. Watts (or kilowatts) would be the real power being drawn at any given moment in time. Unless it is a constant load, that figure is not very useful in figuring consumption. Cumulative power measurements have to be measured over a period of time to be useful, such as watt-hours (or kilowatt-hours). You cannot measure consumption in just kW, you have to know the time base.

 

[muddstopper]

Not sure of the brandname, but similar to the KillAWatt. This meter measures W, Kw,V, amps and records the usage so, they are about the same.