Where can I buy a decibel meter in Chicago?

Is There A Device I Can See How Much My Electric Furnace Is Using?

• Is there a device or meter I can buy at Home Depot or Lowes that can tell me how much electric my electric furnace is using? I want to take the amount of KWH and multiply that by the rate I am paying. My house is half the size as my mother's who also has electric heat, and her electric bill is less than mine. With this mild winter in Chicago, there is no I should be getting a 300 dollar electric bill last month. Comed said it was an actual meter reading, not an estimate. They also claim there can be no mistake. Yet they had no answer when I mentioned the article in the Chicago tribune last week where a homeowner got a $100,000 electric bill last month, which was obvisiously a mistake

• Answer:

  You can use a clip on ammeter over the supply line. Read off the draw in amps. Covert to watts with Voltage potential as supplied x Amps (off readout) x Power Factor (usually unity or .8 depending on your utility provider) The product is watts. Power is measured in Kilowatt hours, where one kilowatt is 1000 watts. Price per kilowatt hour varies usually by time of day, and day of week. You have to add on distribution costs as well as other costs for your region. Good luck, because sometimes its best if you don't know whats going on.