Measuring the Power Consumption of GFCI and AFCI circuits

Modern US homes have a lot more electrical circuit protection than they once had. Ground and Arc fault circuits are great at preventing electrocution and house fires. What is their power consumption?

It's hard to be completely accurate here, but I've measured a bunch using a combination of my Kill-o-watt meter and my Emporia Gen 2 Vue.

My measurements suggest that these devices use roughly 0.5 watts each. In total, that works out to 4.4 KWh per GFCI/AFCI per year:

(0.5 watts x 8766 hrs/year) ÷ 1000 watts/KW = 4.383 KWh/year

Again, this is an estimate. It could be 3.5 or 4.8 KWh per year, but you get the idea.

Total GFCI / AFCI Load On My Electricity Bill

I have 27 circuits with these features (18 modern breakers and 9 outlets). So multiplying 4.383 KWh/year by 27 circuits, and we get a total draw of 118.3 KWh/year. That's a measurable amount of money. That's about $142 per decade using today's US-average electricity cost.

The Cost/Value of GFCI / AFCI

So is it worth spending $142 a decade for these devices? Here's the way I look at it:

Fewer of these would reduce electricity use.
My full collection of these is less than 1/6th the draw of a single traditional incandescent light bulb.
A fire or electrocution could easily be hundreds or thousands of times more expensive than $142.

Savings opportunities

Here are some ideas to save some costs without reducing protection

Using GFCI breakers that protect many outlets are likely more cost and power efficient than GFCI outlets that only protect only one outlet: itself.
Simply turn off the circuits that are not in use.

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, part 1: Disassembly Guide

I've had my SodaStream Jet for years, and once in a while something has gone wrong. Disassembly is the first step to repair. Start with this article to see how to disassemble the SodaStream, and then once you have that down, scroll through my other articles to see how I repaired specfic SodaStream problems. SodaStream Jet Disassembly Guide Tools Required Flat head screwdriver Phillips head screwdriver 1. Remove the Carbonator. Duh. 2. Remove the black panel lever The front big black tilt lever needs to be removed first. Removing this panel is tricky, but it isn't impossible. Looking up at the bottom of the black panel, there are two tabs, one on the left and one on the right. These tabs fully secure the panel in place. The trick is to use a flat-head screwdriver under the plastic to gently lever the tabs out of the way. Note in the pictures how I approach these tabs with my screwdriver. I usually release the left side first, and then I release the right

Fixing a SodaStream Jet, Repair #2 - Broken Fill Button

My Soda Stream Jet's fill button broke, which means I can not longer carbonate water by pressing the pushbutton. This caused all sorts of grief in my household. Here is how I managed to repair my Jet to give it another 10 years of life (hopefully). First, a look at the button The fill button on the top of the SodaStream is actually a simple lever. Pressing down on the button moves a pin that does the actual work of pressing open the Carbonator's valve. Unfortunately, the axis point is fairly thin and can see a lot of stress. That's where my Soda Stream button cracked. [ I think the usage tip here is "don't over-press the button like a gorilla, it doesn't do anything but put high stress on the button."] Cracked levering point of the button The Pesky Lever Retaining Pin The Fix It was pretty easy for me to replace the button: Take off the back of the Soda Stream and remove the carbonator. Push out the the button lever's steel retaining pin. This takes qu

Fixing my Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer

Not everyone would bother repairing a $25 beard trimmer, but why not fix something for under $5 instead of spending another $25? My Wahl 9918 Groomsman Beard and Mustache Trimmer has admirably performed its beauty duty for many years, but the time came when the battery just wasn't holding a charge any more. Most people would just put the trimmer in the trash and buy a new one, but I figured I could repair my otherwise excellent Wahl and save some money. In fact, even high priced trimmer and rotary shaver brands, like Norelco and Remington, can be easily repaired using a process similar to the one I used to fix my Wahl. Read on to find out how. I opened up the Wahl by popping off the black plastic faceplate with a tiny flathead screwdriver, which revealed two screws. By removing the two screws I was able to easily open up the unit, revealing the guts of the device. Backplate off, Revealing the screws The internals are rather simple: a motor, a simple circuit boar

Sodastream Carbonator Leakage, Usage, and Weight

SodaStream 60L "Carbonator" CO2 cylinders have a specific weight when empty, plus about 410 or so grams for the CO2 they should have when they're "full". A little while ago I went to buy a replacement Carbonator from my local hardware store. The dealer pulled a new Carbonator out of the box and sensed it was lighter than usual. He put the "light" Carbonator in the "empty" pile and sold me a different one. At that moment I concluded that it would be smart of me to weigh both new and empty SodaStream carbonators. Here are the results. Weighing a SodaStream Carbonator - for both Science and Consumer Protection. The dealer told me that sometimes the carbonators leak after they leave the SodaStream filling facility. That means there could be an opportunity for customers like me to get ripped off! The SodaStream cylinders I buy claim to have a net product weight of 410 grams - and that means that a full Soda Stream Carbonator shou

MacBook: burnt out magsafe connector repair

My MacBook (A1342 model from 2009-2010) stopped working, thanks to a cheap knockoff magsafe charger. The magsafe connector looked burnt with heat-distorted melted plastic and some black carbon surfaces. Plugging in the charger resulted in no lights and no action. My MacBook was dead. First I tried to clean up the connector with some Q-Tips, tooth picks and solvent, but that did little, as seen in this "after" picture (below). The heat generated by the aftermarket charger permanently deformed and distorted the MacBook's magsafe connector. Clearly the damage was significant. Burnt Magsafe Connector - Replacement Required! Looking at iFixIt , I determined that it would not be difficult to replace only the magsafe connector with the right tools. I hoped and prayed that the problem was isolated to the connector assembly and not the logic board. I bought a replacement magsafe connector assembly (available from Amazon) for under $20 and started to replace it by

On Accounts and Passwords

I have some well-formed opinions on account security. They have evolved over time as I have better understood the risks. Unfortunately, I think the following list is good for all users everywhere. The basic principle is to assume that nothing is secure. Even if you keep your username and passwords secure doesn't mean that your bank, ISP, or Email provider keeps its systems secure. Login Practices Always check for proper HTTPS/SSL security. Never use a link published in an email. Use disposable accounts whenever possible. Your account for your knitting forum shouldn't have any relationship to your account for your bank. Only access sites with a good reputation, and a reputation that they need to uphold. Password Practices Never use the same password more than once. If a hacker steals your password from DumbCo, you don't want that hacker to try that password at BigBucksBank. Change your passwords. People steal encrypted passwords. Over time, they c

The Lance J. Technoweb

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