Miscellaneous electric loads are a somewhat difficult creature for the building scientist and especially a builder to help a homeowner address. These loads are all of the things that people plug in to the electrical outlets. Besides the electricity used when things are running, many items draw power, even when they are in the "off" state. There has been a lot of exposure recently about these standby power draws, sometimes called phantom or vampire loads.

Plug-in power meters are easy to use. Plug the item in question into the meter (which is plugged into a power outlet) and the power draw will display. Turn the item on and off and note the differences. Take actions based on what you learn. There are various features that are offered beyond this, but that's the basic idea. Similarly, the whole-house meters show all the electricity the house is using in real-time. It can be challenging to figure out individual loads, but you get a good idea of how your house runs after watching it for some time. For instance, when I leave my house, I know how much power it should be drawing and can tell if I left something on somewhere.

Ok, so here are the lists of products in no particular order. Feel free to send comments if you know of products I have neglected to list.

Plug in power meters:
P3 Kill A Watt (several models)
P3 Kill A Watt Power Strip
Brand Electronics
Watts up?
Brultech EML 2020
UPM EM-series

Whole-house meters:
Blueline Power Cost Meter
The Energy Detective (TED)
Brand Electronics
Cent-a-Meter
Wattson
Home Joule
Energy Monitor EM-2500