As I mentioned in a previous post regarding my fan and the effort to reduce my electric bill, I had purchased a wattage reader to help me analyze my usage. I had great difficulty finding a unit in Davao even though I had researched and find out that there was one available in the Philippines made by Omni. Most of you that have been here have run into Omni products before.

Of course as things go here, just because it is available to be sold doesn’t mean you can find it. I went to at least a dozen hardware and electrical supply stores before I located a unit, I was just about to give up. I even had the model number and photo. In most cases, I had to tell the staff that information because they had no idea what I was asking about.

The model that I finally got was the Omni MMA-D02P-PK Mini Digital Power Reader. I found it at Davao Electrical Sales in Uyanguren. Evidently they are the largest distributor of Omni products in Davao. It only took me 11 places before someone could tell me that useful piece of information. Now I know.

Here’s the thing with the watt reader – it’s only a tool to tell you how much wattage your appliances are using. If you aren’t willing to make changes in your usage of the appliances, it’s of no use to you in regards to reducing your bill.

Yes, it can do a few other things like tell you your voltage, give you a cost estimate, and overall usage of over a period of time. This all useful information, but it can’t reduce your bill without effort on your part. I was willing to make changes, and therefore I’ve reduced my bill by half. The meter was very effective in helping recognize the appliances that would have the most effect on my usage.

Most of it was obvious. Aircons use a lot of electricity, for instance. What I didn’t know was how much, and the fact that the fans of the aircons used as much as they did. Settings on my refrigerator and toaster oven also had a big impact. Of course the new fan helped a lot, too. The new fan in addition to altering my aircon usage had the greatest effect.

There were minor tweaks – things like turning the speakers off on my computer when not using them, some LEDs to replace some compact fluorescents, an overhead portable fan for the den (7 watts), cooling my water in the refrigerator instead of the water cooler, unplugging the electric stove prior to finish (it stays hot for a long time) and many more little things that add up.

I also learned that some things I had been doing didn’t matter. I had always unplugged my phone’s charger, having heard it used electricity even when not charging. Maybe it’s a good idea for safety, but it wasn’t using any electricity when the phone was fully charged or disconnected from it. I also found that my rechargeable light/fan used a very low amount to charge it. It is an excellent way to supplement fan or light.

I feel that even at P995 it was a good investment for me. I probably won’t use it much in the future, but it was exactly what I was looking for. Maybe that wouldn’t be the case for all.

Per request – the meter manual:

By Randy C Category: Cost of living, Electricity, Technology Tags: Omni Meter, Power meter, Watt meter