{"id":663,"date":"2021-07-26T04:15:54","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T11:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=663"},"modified":"2022-10-09T09:33:30","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T16:33:30","slug":"approximate-energy-costs-of-your-home-appliances-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id663-approximate-energy-costs-of-your-home-appliances-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Approximate Energy Costs of Your Home Appliances"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"power<\/a>Our homes today are loaded with more electronic media and electric appliances than ever before. According to data published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), US household electricity consumption is expected to grow about 29%<\/a> from now through 2040. But while the added electrical loads continue to provide easier and more pleasant lives for us, it also brings higher and higher electricity bills.<\/p>\n

The Anatomy of an Electricity Bill<\/strong><\/p>\n

A large portion of any electricity bill is usually attributable to central heating and air conditioning; I try to temper those costs by simply adjusting my programmable thermostat<\/a> higher in the summer (78 degrees F) and lower (68 degrees F) in the winter. But what about other home appliances? How much do they contribute to the monthly bill?<\/p>\n

To help answer that question, I’ve put together a couple of simple spreadsheets that approximate hourly and monthly energy consumption of some common household appliances and electronics, as shown in the top and bottom figures, respectively. Simply pick an appliance and then look at the column that best represents your approximate electricity costs. In my case it is currently about $0.18\/kWh.<\/p>\n

\"PowerCostsDaily\"<\/a>

Hourly power consumption costs. (Click to enlarge.)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Monthly<\/a>

Monthly power consumption costs. (Click to enlarge.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Keep in mind the energy figures are only gross approximations and, as a result, your experience may be different. You should also be aware that these cost approximations do not consider phantom power that many appliances draw when they are switched off. For the most part, these phantom loads only increase the appliance’s energy consumption by a few watt-hours, but extremely frugal folks can still squeeze additional savings from their electricity bill by unplugging these appliances or using a power strip to cut power to them when they are not in use.<\/p>\n

Some Interesting Observations<\/strong><\/p>\n

A look at the figures reveal some interesting observations:<\/p>\n