If you are purchasing new appliances in Texas or wish to drill down on your home’s electricity costs to understand where you’re spending money on energy usage, it’s helpful to figure out the amount of energy your appliances are burning.
Also, you may be able to save money by comparing electricity rates from some of the best light companies to power your appliances at the lowest possible cost.
And you can check the impact of adding new appliances by reviewing your home’s usage at Smart Meter Texas.
While you’re at it, consider enrolling in a low-cost renewable energy plan to help safeguard the planet from CO2 (see the impact of CO2 in your personal energy choices).
Now, let’s first take a look at our electricity glossary and learn the basics. You need to know how many watts there are in a kWh. To begin with, a watt is simply a unit of measuring power or energy during a certain time, just like a mile is a unit of measuring distance.
Each device, appliance, or lamp consumes a certain amount of watts, and this is the wattage of each device that’s usually written on it. The term “kilowatt-hour” is the amount of electricity you consume per hour, and each kW is 1,000 watts.
How to Measure Electricity Usage by an Appliance
You can easily get an estimate of your monthly electricity usage by calculating the amount of energy consumed by all your electronic devices and appliances. To get an estimate of the monthly electricity usage of a certain appliance, you’ll need two values: the average number of hours you use it every month and the wattage of the appliance.
For example, if you watch TV for about five hours a day, figuring every month as 30 days for simplicity, then you usually watch TV for 150 hours every month (5 x 30 = 150).
The wattage of any appliance or device is usually written on a metal plate or label that’s generally in a hidden place such as the bottom or back of the appliance. It’s a number followed by the letter “W.” If you can’t find the metal plate or label, you can find the wattage in the appliance’s product guide or documentation. Otherwise, you can try searching for it online using your appliance’s model.
Assuming that your TV’s wattage is 200 watts, divide 200 by 1000 in order to get your TV’s wattage in kilowatts (kW). So, your TV’s wattage is 0.2 kW (200 ÷ 1000 = 0.2).
Now, to calculate the monthly electricity usage of your TV, multiply the monthly used number of hours by your TV’s wattage in kW. The result will be 30 kWh (150 x 0.2 = 30).
So, you can repeat the previous steps in order to calculate the electricity usage of any of your devices, depending on their wattages and how long you use them every month.
Now that you have managed to calculate the electricity usage of your TV, it’s time to calculate how much it costs you to watch it. Just multiply 30 by the price you pay for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity. You can find your kWh rate printed on your electric bill. Assuming that you pay 10 cents for each kWh, then it costs you 300 cents ($3) to watch TV every month for five hours a day (30 x 10 = 300).
In case you have a big home and many appliances, it could be a hassle to calculate the electricity usage of each of your devices and appliances. Then, you can use this simple energy usage calculator that can give you an average estimate of your electricity usage. In addition, make sure to have the best electricity plan that suits your home.
What Appliances Use the Most Energy?
Some information might surprise you, like the cost of running a freezer in your garage, which has a high amount of wattage. It must now make sense to you that the higher the wattage of your appliances, the higher your electricity usage is every month. Thus, if you want to consume less electricity and have lower bills, it’s better not to use the appliances that consume a lot of watts for a long time. For instance, air conditioners and electric heaters consume a lot of watts, and it’s better to turn them off whenever you don’t need them in order to have cheaper electric bills.
Henceforth, here is a list of appliances and their average wattages that can guide you on which appliances you need to use less, if you are having expensive electric bills.
Toaster Wattage
Most toasters use between 800 and 1,500 watts. However, an average toaster uses around 1,200 watts. When it comes to toasting bread, toasters are more effective and efficient than using electric stoves or ovens. So, it’s always better to use them to save on energy.
Dryer Wattage
A clothes dryer is a very popular appliance in many households. Clothes dryers actually require a lot of energy because they dry the clothes by tumbling and heating them. The average electric dryer wattage ranges from 1,800 to 5,000 watts, and a typical dryer uses around 3,000 watts. If you want to save on energy, then it’s better not to use a dryer and to dry your clothes naturally whenever you can.
Hair Dryer Wattage
The wattage of a hair dryer varies according to the mode you set it on: hot, warm, or cool. Usually, any hair dryer will have a label indicating its maximum wattage, which often ranges from 800 to 1,800 watts. However, if you set your hair dryer on the unheated mode, it can use as little as 70 watts.
With this information and some calculations, you can expect to know the amount of your monthly electric bills and avoid big billing surprises. If you want to pay less for your electricity usage, make sure to turn off your devices and appliances when you’re not using them.
Regardless of what appliances you own and your monthly usage, you can always lower your bill with the cheapest electricity rates by using our free service, which provides the best Texas electricity rates from the market’s top providers. We’re able to use our bargaining power with providers to offer you special low rates that are usually less than the ones you’ll find on their sites. We also vet each energy plan to help protect you from billing surprises, unlike comparison sites like the State of Texas Power to Choose.
