| Title: |
Watts up? Electricity Watt Meter
|
| Author: |
|
| Course: |
Environmental Science
|
| Abstract/Summary: |
This instrument was named as one of the Top 50 Products of the Year by Home Automation in April, 2002. The Watts up? meter enables you to evaluate most electrical appliances found in the home and at school. It is easy to use; simply plug the Watts up? into any outlet, then plug the 120V device to be analyzed into the Watts up? and start taking measurements!
With the Watts up? meter, you can do the following:
- Identify inefficient appliances
- Estimate how to lower electricity costs by using less high-draw items
- Compare incandescent, fluorescent, and halogen bulbs
- Monitor electricity consumption over time
- Check the standby powers of always-on devices such as televisions, computers, and stereos
When the meter is plugged in, it displays the instantaneous wattage being used and is sensitive enough to pick up the power surge when an appliance is turned on. It measures the cumulative number of kilowatt-hours consumed since being switched on, the cumulative time the meter has been running, and the actual amount of how much the electricity has cost. A two-tier rate structure lets you change the rate to match your local area.
The unit is rather expensive, but it will give years of use as a valuable demonstration tool in the classroom. You can purchase a Teacher's Guide for $28.95, with the Student Workbook available for $3.95. The guide reviews some basic electricity principles and contains several lesson plans. I had to modify these for use with my AP Environmental Science class, but they did provide some ideas as to the types of labs that could be carried out. I usually let the students design their own investigations with the Watts up?, which has been a successful approach for the class. They are often amazed with their findings! Analyzing the data offers the students practice with simple mathematical calculations involving power, voltage, current, and electricity costs.
If you have the money in your budget, and don't have the time to build such an instrument yourself, then the Watts up? meter is a good piece of equipment to add to the laboratory inventory. It could also be of use to the physics classes! A classroom set of 10 units is available at a cost of $919.95. I have heard that some local utility companies offer grants that may help cover the cost of such educational equipment for use in schools, so you may want to investigate that avenue.
Most people do not know how much electricity toasters, microwaves, and the like use. The Watts up? can give you the answer and work out the amount it costs to zap that cold piece of pizza! I use it not only for a lab in the energy section of the AP Environmental Science syllabus but also to illustrate the link between the carbon dioxide emissions of coal-burning, electrical-power-generating plants and the effects of global warming. |
| Publication
Data: |
Electronic Educational Devices, Inc.
2345 S. Lincoln Street
Denver, Colorado 80210
|
| Type: |
Scientific Equipment
|
| Cost: |
$95.95 |
| Vendor
Name: |
Electronic Educational Devices, Inc. |
| Vendor
Phone: |
(877)928-8701 |
| AP
Specific: |
No |
| Link
to More Info: |
http://www.doubleed.com/
|
| Link
to Resource: |
|
| Resource
Includes: |
Lesson Plans, Experiments, Teaching Tips, Vocabulary Lists |
| Reviewer
Name: |
Dean Goodwin Reviewers |
| Review
Last Modified: |
08/14/2002 |
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