Estimating Energy
how much are you spending to power your appliances?
Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative
Determining how much electricity your appliances use can help you understand how much money you are spending to use them. Have you ever wondered how much money that portable air conditioner is sucking out of your wallet? Or, that space heater you use when the temperature dips? Believe it or not, finding the answer to those questions is rather simple.
There's a formula you can use to estimate how much electricity an appliance uses. From there, you can also determine how much the electricity costs, so you can decide whether to invest in a more energy-efficient appliance.
FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO FIND THE DAILY ENERGY CONSUMPTION OF A PRODUCT, AS WELL AS THE COST TO OPERATE IT.
1. Find the wattage of the product.
2. Estimate the number of hours per day an appliance runs.
Find the daily energy consumption using the following formula:
(Wattage × Hours Used Per Day) ÷ 1000 = Daily Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption
Example 1: 1500-watt Space Heater used for 12 hours. (1500 x 12) ÷ 1000 = 18 kwh/day. Times 18 kwh by the electric rate (found on your electric bill) to find how much the space heaters costs to run for 12 hours during a 24-hour period.
What if the wattage is not listed, but the electrical current draw is listed at 10 amps? Use (120-volts x amps) 120V x 10A = 1200 watts
If you need assistance or would like more information, visit www.yvec.com.
