What Is The Average Power Use In The Winter For A 3 Bedroom Home?
Budgeting is important to make sure you and your family stay afloat in difficult times. This is why it is best to calculate your expenses beforehand, just so you know how much money you need to pay off your utility bills. Electricity bills contribute the highest amount to your monthly expenses. The more rooms you have, the more you will contribute to your electricity bills. Believe it or not, you can even count the basic lighting in your utility bills.
If you have your own house, there is a lot you can do to bring down your electricity bills. You have the charge to bring down your usage and bring down your electricity bills, especially during winter. Before you think about lowering your electricity bills, you must understand just how much power you need to run your 3 bedroom home. You can call in an electrician Vancouver, and they can help you calculate power usage depending on the appliances you have and how frequently you use them.
Typically, a 3 bedroom house is a medium energy usage household, which means that you might use up to 3,100 kWh of electricity in a month. There are several things that consume high amounts of energy in your home. Here is a list of all the appliances that consume a high deal of energy, along with the percentage they make up for the entirety of your electric bills.
How Much Energy do Appliances Take?
Heaters and Air Conditioners - Around 47% of your complete energy usage
Washer & Dryer - Around 13% of your complete energy usage
Water Heaters - Around 14% of your complete energy usage
Refrigerator - Around 4% of your complete energy usage
Lighting - Around 12% of your complete energy usage
Entertainment - Around 3% of your complete energy usage
Electric Oven - Around 4% of your complete energy usage
Dishwasher- Around 2% of your total energy usage
How to Calculate Energy Usage?
If you don't want to contact an expert to help you with the calculation of your electricity usage, you can use this method to do it yourself:
1. The first thing you need to do is make a list of all your appliances and then read their labels to find the wattage of. Most devices will have labels that clearly specify the wattage.
2. Now, for each of your appliances, calculate the time you use it for. Multiply the wattage of each device with the number of hours you use it for.
3. Divide the result you get from the multiplication by 1000.
4. Now, you must multiply your answer by 30 if you measure your appliance's usage for the complete month.
Does Energy Consumption Increase in Winter?
Electricity bills rise during the colder months. Why? Well, during winters it is too cold to go out, and we spend most of our time indoors, using energy. We end up spending more time in front of the television and keep the heaters on for long periods. Moreover, we also use a plenty of hot water for a lot our needs. Since the days are shorter and nights longer during the winter, you also use a lot more energy than you would during the summer.
If you get an exceptionally high bill during the winters, it is best to contact an electrician Vancouver and they will take a look at your meter for you. Otherwise, you can see it for yourself. Look at how fast your meter is spinning. The faster turns means that you are consuming a higher amount of electricity.
If you are looking to bring down your energy consumption this winter, here are a few things you can do:
Heat Your Home Naturally
During the day, avoid using house warmers. When the sun is out, it is best if you make use of the sun's warmth. You can crack open a window and let the sun shine through. If it is too cold to open a window, you can just close your curtains or blinds and let the sun shine through the window pane. This is a great way to warm up your home without having to use any energy at all.
During the nights, you can keep your home warm if you install an insulated curtain. The insulted curtains will help you trap heat during the day and keep your home warmer for longer. These curtains are very efficient to save on electricity.
Turn Off the Lights
During the day, you do not need a lot of lighting to keep your home bright. Avoid using many lights in the day as they don't really serve a lot of purpose and can contribute to your bills greatly. It is best that you draw your curtains and let the sunlight illuminate your home. If you are seriously trying to cut down on electricity bills, this is the best way, as using excessive lighting during the day is useless.
Use Energy Star Certified Appliances Only
When renovating your home, you can ask your electrician Vancouver to install only energy-efficient appliances. Energy Star appliances are 25% more efficient than other appliances and can help you save a lot of money on your utility bills.
Cut Down on Laundry
Laundry can use up a lot of energy, so you should avoid doing small loads and gather your dirty clothes to do the laundry once or twice a week. This will help you cut down on energy usage and you won't have to waste your energy doing smaller loads throughout the week. Not only will this help you cut down on using power, but it will also help you contribute positively to the environment.
Moreover, when you do your laundry, it is best if you skip the warm water. Using warm water will multiply your energy consumption. Furthermore, warm water can leave your clothes more wrinkled and then you will have to spend hours ironing them. To avoid this, all you need to do is wash your clothes with cold water and save yourself the hassle and the high electric bills.
Lower the Temperature
Lowering your temperature will bring down your energy bills, but that does not mean that you completely turn it down. You can even make the change of a single degree and watch your energy bills drop. The difference of multiple degrees may not be very noticeable to you, but the bills will surely come down significantly.
Don't Heat Extra Space
You can have empty rooms, for instance, if you have a three-bedroom house, the third bedroom is not may not be in anyone's use. If that's the case, it is best to close the door of that room when you try to heat up the place. If you heat that room too, you are only heating empty space and wasting energy. Shutting the door will limit your heating, and you will save up on your bills greatly. However, you must make sure to close the doors, windows, and other openings of that room.
Closing the vents will also help you cut down on the usage of energy. You can reopen them when it is time to use the third bedroom.
Make Sure Air Does Not Leaks
If there are any air leaks in your home then no matter how hard your heater tries, it will not be able to heat up your home successfully. The air will keep escaping, and the cold air will enter, leaving your home cold and drafty. Before winter arrives, you must check for all air leaks and seal windows and door fixtures properly. The air can also enter through the electrical fixtures in your home. You can ask an electrician Vancouver to help you fix them and seal them properly.
You can most commonly find leaks in the basement and in the attic. If the leaks are major, you might have to get help from an expert and install insulation all over your home.
Use Ceiling Fans to Keep You Warm
This is a lesser-known fact, but if the ceiling fan move in the opposite direction can push warm air down and give you warmth. They create an updraft and push the hot air that rises up to your ceiling, d which can help you keep warm during the cold days. Most fans already have a reverse option that users find quite handy.
Conclusion
3 bedroom houses consume a great deal of energy if you are not mindful. However, you can easily cut down on power usage by using a few tips and tricks. Top Electrician Vancouver recommend that you use the tips and tricks mentioned in this piece to save on electricity.