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Device At Library Can Help Save $$ On Energy Bill

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Oct 12, 2009 3:17 pm US/Mountain

Device At Library Can Help Save $$ On Energy Bill

Reporting
Molly Hughes
DENVER (CBS4) ― The Denver Public Library and Xcel Energy have teamed up to help customers save on their energy bills. People can now check out a device that will help them figure out what electronics are causing them to waste money.

The program is helping people beat the recession by making small changes in their homes.

Michelle Jeske used the "Watts Up?" device to measure how much power her plugged-in appliances are using, even when they're turned off. It's called "ghosting" or a "vampire charge." The Watts Up? device monitors how much ghosting is going on and how much money can be saved each month on energy bills.

The device was designed by Brad Volin.

"Typically people say that you can save easily 10 to 20 percent of your electric bill really with very little behavior change," Volin said.

One of the biggest culprits of energy waste is the family entertainment center.

"We started plugging them into a power strip about a year ago," Jeske said.

Jeske now flips one switch to turn off everything. With a few minor changes like that her energy bill has dropped 25 percent in the winter and 37 percent in the summer. She saved even more after using the Watts Up? device. Her blender had a ghost charge of 1.8 watts. Her older-model refrigerator sucks up nearly 150 watts when it goes through a cooling cycle. Getting a newer model could save her $10 a month.

The Watts Up? devices are not found on the book shelves. They have to be checked out at the library's service desk or circulation desk, and if the devices are all checked out, there is a waiting list. There is also a waiting list on the library's Web site.

All 50 devices were checked out within two days of launching the program, so the demand is there.

The Watts Up? device also plugs into a computer and will chart and graph energy usage and how the most money can be saved.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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