Want to lower your electric bill? 3 tools I use to find the biggest power hogs in my house

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Not a week goes by without someone asking me about my testing process, and I get asked a lot about the tools and gadgets I use to test power consumption. I’m always happy to talk tools, but I’m always clear that the tools I use might not be the best for home users. 

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Take power meters, portable gadgets that measure power consumption of any mains-powered item connected to them. These have been a staple of my testing equipment for a decade. The power meter that I’ve been using for the past few years is the Antai ATX 9801, and it’s been a robust, reliable workhorse. 

Using the ATX 9801 is easy — plug one end into a mains outlet, and it acts like a short extension lead with a digital display. The socket on the front accepts pretty much every power plug worldwide, and as such, it’s great for testing US, UK, European, and Chinese equipment. 

Plug the device in, and the display comes to life, showing the power consumption, current that’s being drawn, power factor of the device (the ratio of useful or real power to total supplied power in an AC system, and it indicates how efficiently the electrical power is being used), along with annual power consumption in kWh. It also shows the voltage and frequency of the input power (which makes it handy for me to test both the power input and output of portable power stations).  

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The display is nice and clear, making it easy to read even under bright sunlight. 

I’ve connected hundreds of devices to this, from tiny chargers to huge power stations, and it’s performed flawlessly. It’s a great meter, but it’s pretty rough and ready, and rather industrial, and there’s no way to connect it to any logging apps. But for about $75, The Antai ATX 9801 a good buy for anyone needing to test a lot of equipment. 

Best options for home users

But there are better options for consumers. For home users, I recommend getting smart plugs or a smart power strip such as those sold by Tapo, a brand owned by TP-Link, itself a big name in wireless and home automation accessories.  

There’s nothing like seeing in real time how much something is costing you to make you want to turn a device off.

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Not only do these devices allow you to turn outlets off and on both locally and remotely, but they also allow you to track power consumption and take a deep dive into usage statistics. I started off with a couple of these at home, hooking them to my 3D printers and filament dryers, but that quickly grew to the point where everything was connected to its own smart outlet.  

Why I recommend this product 

While I like the Antai ATX 9801 as a workshop tool, for the majority of home users who want to keep an eye on power consumption, they’re far better off with domestic power meters. They’ve been safety tested, they’re designed for continuous use, connect to an app so you don’t have to be in front of it, and have more features. 

And they’re not expensive. The 6-outlet power strip is $50, while a 4-pack of smart outlets is $34.