Keep in mind that the manual for the Kill-A-Watt indicates that you should let your tests run for a "period of time" ("the longer, the better") to get a "true indication" of actual usage of an appliance, which means that such appliances that cycle on and off could take up to a month to determine an accurate power consumption rate, in order for you to see how much energy you're using in a year. So, depending on how many items you have to test in your home (and how many others you buy throughout the year and test when you bring them home), it may take you almost a year to find out how much it's costing you.

Upon reading the users manual for the Kill-A-Watt EZ P4460, it indicates that it uses 10Watts, which comes to 87.6KWH per year. At a low rate of 14-cents/KWH (in my area), that comes to 12.26/year. (Reference: http://www.ccrane.com/instruction-manuals/kill-a-watt-ez-P4460.pdf - I couldn't find the power consumption info for the P4400)

So, to find out that your microwave oven display clock is costing you $2/year or a 4W night-light is costing you $3/year or that your 5W desk lamp is costing you $6 year (if these were all left on 24/7), you have used more power trying to determine how much you can save, than it cost you to determine the costs of those units.

When you're doing your cost analysis, don't forget to add in the $20-$40 cost of the unit... after all, those pennies add up. Has anyone asked how much energy the manufacturer is using in a year, to build these units? How much is this adding to the "greenhouse effect" on the Earth's environment.

And while we're calculating the costs to the consumer... it would be interesting to find out if the company received any federal grants to design & build the device and if they get tax credits/deductions for their contribution of an energy-saving device. If so, then we would have to determine how much this is costing the average taxpayer each year.

How much would we all save if we threw out our computers? Instead of sitting here reading about how much energy we could save by buying one of these units and unplugging our microwave or toaster when not in use. Of course, that would lead to more landfill rubbish and the environmental problems that would cause... and the cycle continues... I guess we're doomed?