Watt's Up! Experiment

When we went to the library today, I saw that Xcel Energy is making available a Power Check Meter (Watt's Up! Pro) for frugal people like me to check out for FREE!  Needless to say, I immediately picked one up and came home to try it.  It came with directions for usage that were very straightforward.  Basically, the item to be evaluated is plugged into the meter and then the meter is plugged into the wall outlet.  It gives instantaneous readings (Watts, Amps, or Volts) and/or readings over time (Watt-hours).  It also comes with a USB-type cable, so apparently it can collect data and download it to a computer for further analysis. 

I haven't had the time yet to gather enough data to provide any meaningful conclusions.  But with a few basic calculations, I determined that if one 100 Watt light bulb is left on for 12 hours a day (basically while you're at work plus a few hours in the evening), that would be equal to approximately $3 on your monthly bill (or $36 a year).
I was able to check out the meter for three weeks, so during this time I'm going to do a few mini-experiments to determine how much it costs to run the various appliances, compare computer on vs. computer off overnight, investigate how much power is consumed when electronics are in standby mode (termed "phantom load"). 

Stay tuned to see my results...