Who Else Wants to Know How Much Your Appliances Are Costing You?

It may come as a shock to you, but now technology is more advanced than ever...which inevitably comes at cost to you. But how much, exactly?

It may come as a shock to you, but now that technology is more advanced than ever, we have more gadgets and appliances in our homes than we know what to do with. No matter where you look in my house, it seems as though there is something you have to “turn on” or “plug-in” in every corner of every room.

Granted, most of these things are necessary for our hectic and busy American lives, but do you know how much it’s costing you to use all of those gadgets and appliances every day? Before diving into some of these mind-blowing facts, we will need to get the relevant terms correct.

If you don’t already know, a kilowatt hour (kWh) is a unit used to measure electricity consumption by electricity suppliers. 1,000 watts is equal to 1 kWh, which is equal to 60 minutes. When supply companies price your household electricity supply, they do it based on cents per kWh. So, for each hour that your appliance is running, you can technically calculate how much money it will cost you.

Here are the formulas for that:

Daily Consumption Costs:

*Wattage of Appliance x Hours Used Per Day = Daily kW Consumption

Daily kWh Consumption /1,000 x kW Rate = Cost Per Day

Annual Consumption Costs:

Wattage of Appliance x Hours Used Per Day x Days Used Per Year = Yearly kW Consumption

Yearly kWh Consumption / 1,000 x kW Rate = Cost Per Year

  • Keep in mind that (1 kW = 1,000 Watts)
  • To find “kW Rate,” simply refer to the supply portion of your latest electric bill.

To help you better understand how this calculation works, I will take four popular appliances from my own home that are used on a daily basis and calculate the yearly cost of running them. By doing a quick Google search on the brand and model of each appliance, I was able to find how many watts each appliance uses. To help you get a better sense of the monsters I’m about to analyze, look at the pictures below.

microwave

oven

tv

hairdryer

 

For demonstration purposes, I will pretend the electricity supply rate is $0.10 cents per kWh.

Appliance Watts x Hours Per Day x Days Used Per Year / Convert to kWh x kW Rate = Cost Per Year
Microwave 1,300 x .25 x 340 / 1,000 x 0.10 = $110.50
Oven 3,500 x 1 x 335 / 1,000 x 0.10 = $1,172.50
TV – 46” LED HDTV 166 x 4 x 350 / 1,000 x 0.10 = $232.40
Hairdryer 1,875 x .25 x 365 / 1,000 x 0.10 = $171.09

The results are so interesting to me! I never would have thought that my hairdryer uses almost as much electricity to operate as my TV does. Just by doing a little digging around to find out the wattage of each appliance, I was able to see the numbers that I could never visualize before this exercise. Now, I have a better picture of what the gadgets in my house are costing me.

Like I said earlier, everyone will have appliances with different wattages, as well as different consumption habits. For example, your household might only use the TV for an hour a day but use the oven for two. Each house will be different, which is why this simple exercise can be personalized for everyone. If you would like more general information about how much your appliances are costing you, check out General Electric’s Data Visualization page.

I hope this helps you visualize your energy usage, especially since electricity is not exactly a tangible thing…

*Note: appliance wattage will be different depending on model and brand of product.

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Less Shower Time = A More Efficient Life

There's nothing better than nice hot shower in the morning to get your day started in the right direction. But, after a while, that can start to significantly put a hole in your wallet. By simply changing a few small habits, we can have a more efficient, productive every-day life.

If you’re like me, a nice hot shower is what wakes you up in the morning. Taking showers can be an energizing and relaxing activity, and they also help our physical and emotional well-being. However, is it really necessary to lounge around in the shower for more than a few minutes?

Probably not—and we can get our deep thinking done anywhere. Besides saving time, here are some ways that cutting down our precious shower time and frequency can deliver unexpected benefits.

Saving Water

Did you know that on average, we use a whopping 2.5 gallons of water per minute? Yikes! That means that a 10-minute shower uses 25 gallons of (hot) water. That’s taking dollars out of your pocket, as well as wasting water and time. By reducing the length of your showers, you will be saving water and protecting Mother Earth. You’ll also start seeing savings on your water bill. It’s a win-win!

More Time to Do What Matters

We are all guilty of it, including myself. Sometimes, it can be hard to not take two showers in a day. Once in the morning and once after going to the gym – I get it, it happens. Nonetheless, if we tried to stick to ONE shower a day, we could have more time to spend on doing things that matter most, like catching up with family or taking the dog for a quick walk. We could also have more time to complete our daily to-do lists before the sun goes down.

Energy Savings

Finally, limiting your shower time can significantly impact your electricity bill as well. Whenever you cut your hot water use, you are saving energy and saving money. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little extra cash at the end of the year?

My point isn’t intended to deprive you of your morning luxury: rather, it is to inform you of how cutting off just a few short minutes can benefit you financially. So, I challenge you to break the habit. Try to keep your showers to 5 minutes or less. If you have to, buy a cheap timer to let you know when it’s been too long. In these tough economic times, every little bit can help. I’ve broken my habit—can you do it too?

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5 Tips to Stay cool and keep energy costs down!

Summer officially begins this Saturday [...] many weather folks are calling for warming temperatures this week, with increased humidity, parts of New England could reach the lower 90′s.

Summer officially begins this Saturday, June 21 at 6:51 am (EDT)  (The Old Farmer’s Almanac is a great source of cool weather related info) coincidentally (or perhaps not) many weather folks are calling for warming temperatures this week, with increased humidity, parts of New England could reach the lower 90’s.

Many folks will find themselves rummaging through the attic or garage for the air conditioner and fans.  A good thing to keep in mind is that conditioners use a lot of power-most are not terribly efficient.   Fortunately It is possible to keep energy costs down and stay comfy cool this summer.

  1. Attic Ventilation – attics can easily overheat in direct sunlight.  Don’t be afraid to let the warm (hot) air out.
  2. Don’t use the stove or oven – Do you need to ask why?  Break out the BBQ or eat fruit on warm days.
  3. Clean out Central Air Condition duct work – if need be, hire a professional.  Clean duct work will save you money and provide healthier air.
  4. Replace filters on your window A.C. units – after a couple years you may want to consider replacing filters
  5. Change your shades/blinds – Use light colored blinds or curtains.   When it is warmer, keep them lowered.  At night raise ’em up, let the air flow.

Hazy Horizon - keep energy costs down.

Bonus Tip

Something to think about for the long term… consider planting a tree.  Not only will a grown tree help keep energy costs down, they provide great shade, they are great for the environment (also good for climbing, ropes swings and of course great place to hang a hammock)!

 

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