| As fossil fuels become rarer and more expensive, | | | | individual appliances. |
| monitoring your electrical usage is smart. Figuring out | | | | Almost every appliance will have a tag that gives its |
| how to cut waste saves you a ton of money | | | | watt consumption. It is important to remember that |
| because the savings occur month after month, year | | | | this figure is usually the maximum wattage of the |
| after year. | | | | unit and not its average usage amount. You can still |
| Electrical usage is measured in kilowatt hours. The | | | | use this figure to calculate the cost of operation. |
| watt is a measure of work performed or energy | | | | Based on an average electrical cost figure, a 75 watt |
| consumed. A kilowatt hour is simply one kilowatt of | | | | light bulb will cost around 6 cents per 10 hours of |
| energy being consumed for one hour. | | | | operation. A clothes dryer will use about 41 cents per |
| The average home electrical usage is a little under | | | | load. A 10 SEER air conditioning unit will use around |
| 9000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electrical power in a | | | | $58 per month when in use. |
| year. This averages out to 24.38 kWh per day. This | | | | There are several ways to reduce the electrical |
| figure varies from home to home and depends on | | | | consumption of your home and save money on your |
| the insulation of the home and the weather in the | | | | monthly bills. Of course, simply not using appliances |
| area where the home is located. The weather plays | | | | will result in savings. There are ways to accomplish a |
| a major role because space heating is the largest | | | | reduction without sacrificing the benefits of electricity. |
| single energy consumption factor in a typical home. | | | | Simple common sense tells you to turn lights and |
| Space heating can account for as much as 48% of | | | | appliances off when not in use. A slight decrease in |
| the total usage figure. On the other hand, cooling | | | | thermostat settings on a heater or air conditioning |
| usually accounts for only 7% although this would be | | | | unit can have a dramatic effect on consumption. |
| slightly higher in an area with high daily temperatures. | | | | Since heat is such an electricity hog, taking shorter |
| Appliances and lighting make up an estimated 31% of | | | | showers would be a cost cutter. A load of wash in a |
| the total usage. This is the area where usage habits | | | | washing machine will cost about 30.1 cents on hot |
| can result in the greatest variation in total electrical | | | | hot cycle and only about 2.5 cents on cold/cold cycle. |
| power consumption. How appliances are use and | | | | The age and condition of an appliance has a big |
| what type of appliances they are can have a radical | | | | impact also. A refrigerator built in 1975 will cost about |
| impact on the usage and the electrical bills. There are | | | | $12.20 to operate for a month, but a refrigerator built |
| several ways to determine the usage figures of | | | | in 2003 will cost only about $3.76 a month. |