How to Save Energy
Economy is down but cost of electricity is rising. It’s up 4.5% from the last year in California. For many people saving energy is not a choice but a necessity.
When we save energy we also save money. What can you do? The first step to saving energy in your home or apartment is knowing where it goes.
Good to know:
About 70% of energy consumed by average home owner goes for heating, cooling and water. If you want to take control of your electric bill look at the table below and see if you can reduce usage of some of your electrical appliance.
What is your favorite appliance?
and How well do you know it?
Do you talk to your electrical appliance? I do. I have lot’s of toys in my home and my favorites are my laptop and my printer. I have a name for both of them and I even talk to them when no one is around.
On another hand I do not like my electric bill. It is going up every month. I decided to put the end of this insanity and investigate which appliance at my home is power thirsty and which is good enough to keep.
Below is a table of statistics about power consumption by different devices. It will help you to understand where your energy goes on the daily basis.
| Monthly | Yearly | Cost per use | |
| HEATING | |||
| Portable Electric Space Heater | $7 for 60 hours | $30 for 250 hours | 10-18 ¢/hour |
| Electric Furnace | $90 for 90 hours | $270 for 270 hours | 80¢ – $1.20 /hour |
| Natural Gas Furnace | $100 for 150 hours | $460 for 700 hours | 60-80 ¢/hour |
| Pilot Light | $3 | $36 | 8-11 ¢/day |
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| COOLING & VENTILATION | |||
| Central Air Conditioner | |||
| ~ Typical new | $44 for 7 hrs/day (in the summer) |
$175 for 900 hrs/yr | 16-23 ¢/hour |
| ~ ENERGY STAR-labeled | $35 for 7 hrs/day (in the summer) |
$140 for 900 hrs/yr | 13-19 ¢/hour |
| Wall/Room Air Conditioner | $14 for 175 hrs/mo (in the summer) |
$55 for 700 hrs/yr | 7-10 ¢/hour |
| Evaporative Cooler ("Swamp Cooler") | $1.50 for 40 hrs (in the summer) | $6 for 150 hrs | 3-5 ¢/hour |
| Whole House Fan | $9 for 12 hrs/day | $80 for 3300 hrs/yr* | 2-5 ¢/hour |
| Portable Fan | $1 for 100 hrs/mo (in the summer) |
$3 | 1 ¢/hour |
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| KITCHEN | |||
| Electric Range | $4, assuming 1 hr/day | $48 | 10-16 ¢/hr, per burner |
| Gas Range | $1.50, assuming 1 hr/day | $18 | 5 ¢/hr, per burner |
| Electric Oven | $6.60 for 40 hrs | $82 for 500 hrs | 14-19 ¢/hr |
| Gas Oven | $2.80 for 40 hrs | $35 for 500 hrs | 6-8 ¢/hr |
| Microwave Oven | 60 ¢/hr | $11 for 8 hrs | 1¢ for 5 mins |
| Dishwasher | $4.50 for 1 cycle/day | $54 for 360 cycles | 13-18 ¢/cycle |
| Refrigerator | |||
| ~ Typical 1972 model | $11 | $132 | 36 ¢/day |
| ~ Typical 1990 model | $6 | $70 | 19 ¢/day |
| ~ Typical 2000 model | $5 | $59 | 16 ¢/day |
| ~ Energy Star-labeled 2000 model | $3.50 | $43 | 12 ¢/day |
| Stand-Alone Freezer | |||
| ~ Typical 1978 model | $6 | $75 | 18-23 ¢/day |
| ~ Typical 1997 model | $3 | $35 | 8-11 ¢/day |
| Blender | 5¢, 5 uses/week | less than $1/year | less than 1¢ |
| Toaster | 10¢, assuming 1 use/day | $1.20, assuming 1 use/day | 0.3-0.4¢ |
| Waffle Iron/Sandwich Grill | 20¢, 2 hours/mo | $2.40, 1 use/week | 5¢ for 30 mins |
| Coffee Maker | $3-4, assuming 1 use/day | $44, assuming 1 use/day | 10-14 ¢/brew |
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| LAUNDRY | |||
| Note: Expenditures for dryers and clothes washers assume 1 load per day. | |||
| Electric Clothes Dryer | $11 | $135 | 30-45¢/load |
| Gas Clothes Dryer | $4 | $47 | 10-16¢/load |
| Clothes Washer w/ electric water heater: | |||
| hot wash & warm rinse | $22 | $260 | 65-80¢/load |
| warm wash & cold rinse | $7.50 | $93 | 20-30¢/load |
| Clothes Washer w/ gas water heater: | |||
| hot wash & warm rinse | $6 | $73 | 17-21¢/load |
| warm wash & cold rinse | $2.70 | $33 | 8-10¢/load |
| cold wash & cold rinse | $1.25 | $15 | 4¢/load |
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| LIGHTING | |||
| Light bulb, single | |||
| ~ 75-watt incandescent | 87¢ for 150 hrs | $10.50 for 1825 hrs | 0.5 ¢/hr |
| ~ 18-watt fluorescent | 21¢ for 150 hrs | $2.50 for 1825 hrs | 0.1 ¢/hr |
| ~ 25-watt tube fluorescent | 29¢ for 50 hrs | $3.50 for 1825 hrs | 0.2 ¢/hr |
| ~ 300-watt halogen | $3.50 for 150 hrs | $42 for 1825 hrs | 2 ¢/hr |
| ~ Night Light | 10¢ for 10 hrs/day | $1.20 for 10 hrs/day | 0.3 ¢/day |
| Total lighting cost, typical house | $9 | $107 | 25-50¢/day |
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| WATER HEATING | |||
| Conventional gas water heater | $13 | $160 | 40-60¢/day |
| Conventional electric water heater | $32 | $390 | 90¢-$1.30/day |
| Electric heat pump water heater | $13 | $160 | 40-60¢/day |
| Oil Water Heater | $19 | $230 | 60-75¢/day |
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| HOME ENTERTAINMENT | |||
| Television, 27-inch | $1.30 for 90 hrs (3 hrs/day) | $16 for 1000 hrs/yr | 1-2¢/hr |
| VCR | 5¢, assuming 2 movies/wk | $1 | under 1 ¢/movie |
| Boombox | 70¢ for 90 hrs (3 hrs/day) | $8 for 1000 hrs/yr | under 1 ¢/hr |
| Stereo, Component System | $1-$1.50, assuming 10 hrs/wk | $15, assuming 520 hrs/yr | 2-4¢/hr |
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| OTHER/MISCELLANEOUS | |||
| Clock | 30-50¢ | $5 | 0.05 ¢/hr |
| Aquarium | $2-$4, assuming 10 hrs/day | $40 | 6-10¢/day (10 hrs on/day) |
| Hair Dryer | $1.20, assuming 1 use/day | $10, assuming 1 use/day | 3-5¢ per 15 min use |
| Cordless Phone | 16¢ | $1.90 | n/a |
| Christmas Lights | $16, December only | $16,December only | 8¢/hr for 100 lights |
Now you know what’s going on in your own home. Take control and show them who’s in charge. In the next post. I will show you what you can do to save energy.
~ Your trusted electrician.
p.s. If you can not wait till next time, just give me a call I’ll give a few quick tips. Call Us:
(408) 459-8024.
