New Ways to Monitor & Control Your Energy Bill Before it Arrives in the Mail

Wondering what your old stove or washer is doing to your monthly energy bill? Home power monitors are now available and are rumored to be heading for the shelves in your local home improvement stores soon! Some are cost effective enough to make awesome gifts this holiday season!

Figure out what each individual device is costing you with a Smart Plug which plugs directly into an outlet. Or monitor the whole house at once with a power monitor;  enter specific information about your area and energy usage making end of the month surprises a thing of the past. Some plug into the electrical panel and now a wireless design is available that sits near the meter outside feeding information to a monitor or you’re even your computer inside. Monitoring and controlling your power usage remotely is possible as well, or get one that automatically powers down a device – like your computer – when it goes unused for a set period of time.

Wondering where that draft is coming from? What used to require a professional has gone DIY. Black and Decker’s thermal leak detector helps you identify those drafty spots around the obvious spots like windows, doors but will also help you find those spots you might not consider otherwise like room molding, outlets, recessed lights, dryer vents, pipes, chimney surrounds, electrical panel and even poorly insulated spots in walls, floors or ceilings.

There are a number of reliable sources and sites out there to educate, compare and even order one online! Here are just a few:

theenergydetective.com
treehugger.com
power2save.ca
blackanddecker.com