Household electricity monitors available on loan from Maine libraries

AUGUSTA – Efficiency Maine has relaunched its education campaign that supplies electricity monitor kits to libraries interested in loaning them to their patrons across the state.
Nearly 60 of Maine’s libraries have requested the free updated kits or educational materials as part of a statewide education campaign designed to encourage consumers to monitor, measure and manage their electricity consumption. The remaining 213 libraries in the state that received kits when the program was introduced in 2008 will continue to loan out the monitors and materials they already have.
The campaign aims to help Mainers use energy more efficiently by arming them with information and other tools that can show them how much they consume, and comes with a worksheet for children so they can work with the adults in the home to monitor “phantom load,” the electricity many devices draw when they are turned off..
Michael Stoddard, executive director of the Efficiency Maine Trust, said, ”Raising awareness is the first step to changing energy consumption habits and these kits make that an easy, fun activity that can be a learning experience for everyone.”
Each kit includes an electricity monitor, a booklet of home energy efficiency tips, instructions on how to use the monitor, a poster for libraries that publicizes the kits’ availability and educational activity worksheets for families and children.
The monitors are easy to use – plug it into an electrical outlet, plug an appliance into the monitor, turn it on, and the monitor will provide a read-out of electricity use. Follow the instructions provided in the kit to calculate how much the appliance is costing in power usage each month.
The children’s worksheet includes a checklist that walks children through assessing the power draw on devices, such as televisions, cable boxes, DVD players, phone chargers, lamps, computers and microwaves, and leaves spaces for them to add more devices. Once the monitor provides a read-out of electricity use, the worksheet provides a formula that helps them calculate estimated cost of the phantom load.
Library patrons can check out a monitor free of charge. If there is no library in town, consumers can visit the Maine State Library’s website to find out how they can request materials via postal mail. For more information, visit www.efficiencymaine.com/at-home/electricity-monitor-loaners.