from Cathy in East Troy, WI:
#943
I'm thinking about buying a water bed. I'm wondering how much the water bed heater will add to my electric bill each month. The salesman told me the heater remains on all the time. Any idea what this would typically add to my electric bill? I thought about taking in a watts meter but the store says its against policy to plug the water beds in. Currently, I use an electric mattress pad that I have on about 2-3 hours per day. How would that compare?
A watt meter can help you measure the amount of electricity being used.
I’m not sure, but you can find out by using a watt meter. A watt meter is a fun way to find out how much electricity home appliances and electronics consume. (A watt meter is an electronic instrument that measures the power (watts) used by devices. When you plug the meter into the appliance, you can measure how much electricity your appliances/electronics are using and what they are costing you.) Plug the watt meter into an outlet, and then plug a device into the watt meter. Try it with the device on, then turn it off to see the difference—and to catch a glimpse of "standby power” at work! Visit your local library to see if they have a watt meter you can borrow. If your library does not have a watt meter at that location, they can get one through an inter-library loan.
To find out more about your household appliances and how much energy they use, view our appliance energy use fact sheet.
Published Wednesday, April 06, 2011