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How to Measure The Amount of Energy You Use

Determining Your Energy Usage

By KevinPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Energy costs money. This is most evident when your electric bill comes in the mail each month. After recovering from the heart attack that your total bill costs, you may want to learn just how much energy you actually use in your home. Once you know this, you can look for ways to lessen the amount of energy your home uses, and save money on your monthly electric bill. Our electronics and appliances aid us in our daily tasks.

How to Understand Your Electric Bill

Every device powered by electricity in your home is reflected on your monthly utility bill. Some of your appliances cost a lot more to power than others. Understanding how much power each of your devices and electronics uses can help you find ways to lower your energy costs. Calculating the cost of energy for a device is pretty simple. You will only need two specific pieces of information to figure it out. The two numbers are the devices wattage, and the number of hours each day you use that device. Many appliances and devices have the wattage listed on them, or in their owner's manual.

Calculating The Cost of Energy a Device Uses

  • Step 1—Calculate The Watts Per Day
    • The first step involves multiplying together the wattage of a device by how many hours it is used each day. This will give you the number of watt-hours that device consumes each day. A megawatt hour is a unit of measurement that equals one million watts.
  • Step 2—Convert To Kilowatts From Watt-Hours
    • On your electric bill, the power you use is measured in kilowatt-hours. A single kilowatt equals 1000 watts. Take the number you received in step one, and divide it by 1,000. This is how you get your answer.
  • Step 3—Calculate Monthly Usage
    • Now that you know how many kilowatts you use each day with your devices, take that number and multiply it by 30. This will give you your approximate power usage for the month. This will help you determine how much energy each of your specific appliances uses. You may find that some of them use more energy than you originally thought.

Top Home Appliances That Use The Most Energy

Some appliances in your home use much more energy than others. For most homeowners, the heating, cooling, and water heater systems use the greatest amount of energy each month. The third and fourth most energy-consuming appliances in a home are the washer and dryer units, and the lights. Below are some ways to help save on your costs for these specific appliances. The more of these tips you take into consideration, and put into use, the lower your electric bill can go.

Heating

Depending on the area you live in, your heating unit can be essential to living comfortably. To minimize the cost of heating your home, turn the heat off when you are not home, and put on more clothes instead of turning up the heat a few degrees.

Cooling

During the warmer months of the year, most people like to have a cool home to relax in. To save some money on your cooling costs, consider using fans throughout your home. Be sure to turn your air conditioning system off, or up a few degrees, before you leave your home for the day.

Water Heater

Your home's water heater can cost up to 20 percent of your electric bill. If you want to save money on your electric bill, check the temperature of your water heater. Dropping it 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit can lessen the amount of energy used to keep your water hot. Additionally, installing sink faucet aerators, and low-flow shower heads in your home can help restrict the amount of hot water you use on a daily basis.

Lights

Saving money on your lighting costs can be as simple as changing your light bulbs to energy-saving bulbs. They last longer than traditional bulbs, and use much less energy.

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