Policing your power

First off are some cool wattage watchdogs I got to test out recently: the Watt-Minder from Mashita Electronics ($40) and the Watts Up Pro ES from Power Cost Monitor ($200).

I had some trouble figuring out how to start the Watt-Minder (forgot to read the instructions before fiddling with the buttons) but the premise behind these is pretty simple.

Basically, you plug one into an outlet and then attach an appliance to see how much energy that specific electronic is sucking up and how much it's costing you.

On the negative side, the monitors are a bit time-consuming to use and really offer just a guesstimate, since they're both preset with an average national price of energy (though you can manually change that to reflect your region if you'd like).

But the tools, which hold a place in several state utility loan libraries, are really practical and can help you perform a home energy audit. Taking a day or two to get a read on every appliance you regularly use or have plugged in will tell you how much you’re using up.

And with the new Watts Up Pro ES' Ethernet capabilities, you can keep the monitor plugged in and remotely shut off the appliance's energy draw--particularly useful for those electronics that continue to suck energy when they’re not on.

"Ten percent of all energy consumption is tied to these types of energy-drawing loads, called leakers," says spokesperson Brad Volin.

Which basically means you're leaking ten percent more money through your bills than necessary because of those little suckers.