How Much Power Is Necessary To Run The Average Home?
Are you wondering how much power exactly does it take to run your home or any average home? Well, there are several electrical appliances in most homes. It is worth keeping in mind that electricity usage solely depends on the electrical appliances at home and how many times you use them throughout the month. There are other factors such as the size of your home, the number of family members, and so on.
The extraneous factors such as the climate also play an essential role in the power used. For instance, if you live in the colder areas, you will have to use a lot of energy to keep your home warm and cozy.
If you want to find out how much energy your appliances use, you can take a look at their wattage. In most cases, you can find the wattage for each device on its back or the packaging. The wattage written on the package counts for the power it will use per hour.
Let us take a look at all the appliances an average home has and how much wattage they have:
Light Bulbs: An average home has two or more light bulbs in every room. A single bulb of 100 watts uses up to 1kWh in a little over 10 hours.
Microwave: Microwaves are one of the most common electrical appliances. It is also one of the most frequently used appliances. If you use your microwave for 15 minutes on high heat, your microwave will use up to 0.36kWh for that duration.
Refrigerator: No home is indeed complete without a refrigerator. Old refrigerators used to consume a lot of power, but the power usage has been reduced greatly due to the latest advancements. Initially, refrigerators would consume up to 2200 kWh, but now the CEE Tier 3 refrigerators consume around 425 kWh.
Washing Machine: It is unheard of if a home does not have a washing machine. We all wear clothes and obviously have to wash them. If you have a washing machine with both the hot and cold water setting, you can expect it to use up more power, whereas if you have a cold water setting machine, it will only take up to 0.3 kWh per load.
Toaster: You may not use a toaster for a long time, but you may use it multiple times throughout the day. An average toaster can use 0.33 kWh if used at 180 degrees for 1 hour.
Considering this, an average home uses 9.2 kVA for moderate usage. If the use increases, the power might not be sufficient for your home.
Standby Power
Many people are under the impression that only if you use an electrical appliance will it consume power. That's not the case, as plugged-in electrical devices consume a lot of energy. That is called standby power. You may think that even if they use energy, it won't amount to much. That's where most people make mistakes. According to experts, the standby power consumed can amount to up to one-tenth of your electricity expenditure.
If you have many electric appliances plugged in, you might be consuming a lot of power without even knowing about it. This is why experts suggest that it is best to unplug any electric appliance if it is not in use. This may help you save a lot of power. Speaking about saving energy, who would not want to bring down their usage of electricity?
How To Cut Down On Energy Consumption
If you are worried about high electricity bills then you must take our advice and follow these practical tips to cut down on energy consumption:
Let Natural Light Flood Your Home or Use LED Lights
LED lights help save a lot of money. If you replace only a bunch of light bulbs around your home, you might end up saving $60-70 every year. Not only do these bulbs cut down on electricity, but they also last you a lot longer than the traditional light bulbs. They can last for years on end if used carefully. LED bulbs give you more light. That is why you do not need to use many of them to get the right amount of light provided by traditional bulbs. Moreover, these light bulbs can emit energy in all directions that helps illuminate the whole room.
These bulbs do not emit a lot of heat, and that helps keep the temperature regulated. You do not have to decrease your air conditioning temperature to counteract the heat from the LED lights.
Wash Dishes By Hand
If you want to save money and energy, washing dishes by hand is the best option. Dishwashers use a lot of energy and is arguably the biggest contributor to excessive power usage besides hot water. A dishwasher uses hot water to wash your dishes. You can also easily switch between warm and cold water when doing the dishes yourself. Less consumption of hot water means less energy consumed.
In addition to that, when washing dishes with a dishwasher, you may have to do several loads throughout the day, even if you do not have a full load just yet. The frequency of loads, adds more to your energy consumption. If you wash dishes by hand, you do not have to worry about making a full load. You can also wash as many dishes as you want to.
Solar Panel Installation
Solar panel installation is yet another practical solution to bring down your energy consumption. When you install a solar panel, you start taking up electricity from the panel itself rather than the grid, which means that you do not consume electricity from the grid and cut down on the power used. Solar panels can help you power most electrical appliances in your home, both during the day and the night.
Install multiple solar panels, and they will take care of all the electric needs of your home.
Use Cold Water For Laundry
You may be wondering why you should use cold water for laundry. Well, it is not widespread knowledge, but 90% of your energy goes into heating up the water rather than washing the clothes itself. This is why if you want to cut down on power, washing your clothes with cold water will be a much feasible option. If that is not enough to convince you, it is a fact that washing your clothes with cold water will increase the life of your clothes.
Get Motion Sensors
If you are not using a room, turning the light and the air conditioning off would be an excellent idea. However, in the daily hub dub of life, we can often forget to do that, which amounts to a lot of electricity bills. To deal with this, you can install motion sensors. Motion sensors will detect if there is no one in the room and then switch off the lights and other electrical appliances in that room. The motion sensors can help you cut down on electricity usage significantly.
Insulate Your Home
A lot of energy goes into heating and cooling your home. If your home is not insulated correctly, it might take a lot longer and more energy to keep it warm or cool. It is a good idea to ensure that your home is properly insulated to save up on electricity. According to experts, around 50-70% of your energy consumption comes from heating and cooling the house. So it is best to get your home insulated.
Dry Your Laundry On The Wire
When doing your laundry, take the load and hang it up on wires to dry. Laundry dryers consume a lot of energy. They are incredibly convenient, and you do not have to wait for a long time to dry your clothes,, but the amount of energy they consume is astronomical. With a little effort from your end, you will be able to save a lot of electricity. When your laundry is complete, make sure you take out the clothes and hang them up on the wires.
Microwave Over Oven
Surprisingly, microwaves consume much less electricity in comparison to ovens. They use precisely half of the electricity an oven consumes. This is why it is always a better idea to use a microwave rather than an oven. Most ovens do not just help you cook but also heat your home, which is why avoiding them is a good idea.
Conclusion
Conserving power is not only helpful for the environment but it can also help you save on electricity bills. Try to estimate the power usage in your home, and if you are facing trouble doing that on your own, a licensed electrician Vancouver could help. Consider using the tips mentioned in this piece to ensure you don’t use more power than necessary.