Kill A Watt

The Nesmith Library has received a Kill A Watt energy monitor generously donated by Go Green Windham. Go Green Windham is a

grassroots movement dedicated to promoting green initiatives in the community and advocate for changes to protect our environment from the devastation of global warming caused by carbon pollution. The goal is to raise awareness and effect broad based community action that causes positive long term environmental change in Windham.

The Kill A Watt energy monitor will help you figure out how much power your computer, washing machine, Wii, and other electrical devices are using, and with this information you can then figure out and how much they're costing you on your utility bill.

The monitor has been placed into a sturdy zippered bag and may be borrowed for a period of two weeks like other library materials. Its call number is KIT 333.793 KIL, but it will not be on the regular bookshelves due to security reasons, so please ask for it at the front desk.

Within the bag is the Kill A Watt Energy Detector, model P4400, the manual which was packaged with the monitor, and an instruction sheet with more detailed use instructions and formulas for calculating the impact of electrical devices' use on your electric bill. Some of this information has been made possible by Efficiency Maine. Efficiency Maine has distributed 650 energy monitors to public libraries across Maine starting the first of the year. The response in Maine has been very good according to an article in the Portland Press Herald in January, "A quick look at the computerized inventories of 18 large Maine libraries showed that every library that received the monitors had already loaned them out, and that many placed holds on them for patrons waiting in line."

To help you to make sense of what you're doing by calculating your energy use, we've included a book called Consumer Guide to Energy Savings by Jennifer Amann in the kit.

The Lewiston, Maine Public Library has a calculator on its website that anyone can use--all you need do is check your own utility bill for your average cost per kilowatt hour, and borrow our Kill A Watt kit. Here in New Hampshire, PSNH also has an online calculator, but you need a PSNH account and you must register. Rumor has it that PSNH may be considering a library Kill A Watt program in the future. Stay tuned.