Danville Utilities and the Danville Public Library have teamed up to make “Kill A Watt EZ” home energy monitors available to library cardholders.
Beginning Thursday, library patrons can borrow a monitor just like a book, take the monitor home and plug it into an electrical outlet to find out how much it’s costing to run their televisions, computers, refrigerator and other electronics and appliances.
“These monitors provide an easy way to measure energy usage,” said Jim Kendrick, director of Danville Utilities. “They can reveal surprising energy wasters, such as a television that is turned ‘off’ but still drawing power.”
Kendrick said that according to the federal ENERGY STAR® program, 75 percent of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off.
“Using these monitors can be eye opening,” Kendrick said. “Not only will they show which electronics and appliances are worth keeping plugged in, but with older appliances, you can learn how much they are costing you to keep around.”
Households can use this information to make adjustments to reduce their overall energy use and lower monthly utility bills.
Nate Lewis, key accounts manager for Danville Utilities, said the monitors are easy to use.
“They are plugged into an electrical outlet, then the appliance or electronic device is plugged into the monitor,” Lewis said. “The monitors have a large digital display and count energy usage by the kilowatt hour just as you see it listed each month on your utility bill.”
The monitors, he said, not only will show the watts consumed in real time by electronics and appliances, but they will forecast the energy costs by day, week, month and year.
Monitors at the library are packaged with directions and tips, plus advice on how to apply the information learned to start saving energy.
Library Director Shelly Janosko said the library will be providing a valuable service through the partnership with Danville Utilities.
“We are committed to providing information to our patrons in all formats, and the ‘Kill A Watt EZ’ is a great example of that,” Janosko said. “We encourage citizens to come to the library to check out a book or movie, and check out a ‘Kill A Watt EZ’ monitor at the same time.”
For residents who do not have library cards, applications are available in person at the library. When applying, adults 18 and over must present photo identification and verification of their current address.
The library will have 20 monitors available, and they may be checked out for up to 28 days.
Danville Utilities purchased the monitors locally with money from its Home$ave Residential Energy Efficiency program. The Home$ave program also offers cash rebates to customers who purchase qualifying new energy efficient products for their home.
For more information about borrowing a “Kill A Watt EZ” device, call the Danville Public Library at 434-799-5195. To learn more about how to save energy, contact Nate Lewis, key accounts manager for Danville Utilities, at (434) 857-3312 or visit Danville Utilities’ Home$ave website, www.danvillehomesave.com.