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CEC loaned a Kill A Watt meter to Shams this summer and asked him to let us know what he discovered by using it. What he discovered is an incredibly simple trick for saving energy at home.

"I try to do my part for the environment, Santa Barbara is just such an amazing place you can't help but to want to do right by it. So I've always done the basics: shop at Farmers (Market), stay out of my car as much as possible, put CFLs in my lighs, use a refillable Sigg for water, and bring my own bag to Trader Joes. I was curious about what a Kill A Watt meter even was when I read about it in (CEC's) email, so I figured I'd borrow one and see what it showed me.

I was pretty shocked to see how much electricity I was using in just one corner of my bedroom. I share a house with friends so I have my own TV and computer set-up in my bedroom, I tested all the electronics in the corner (TV, computer, printer, cell phone charger) and found that they use a lot of energy when they're in use but also a lot of energy when they're just sitting there. I have most of them plugged into a power strip, so now I just unplug the whole power strip when I'm leaving the house and I know they aren't wasting energy all day.

I had the Kill A Watt with me once at a friend's house on the mesa, and he has this huge TV, a 50" plasma or something -- the Kill A Watt showed that it uses 400 watts! My TV used about 110 I think. We googled it, and found that his TV uses as much electricity as if you turned on 35 CFLs at once. Ridiculous!"

Send us your stories about saving energy and you could win a "Smart" Power Strip (making it even easier on you than what Shams has been doing). More information HERE.