How to Calculate Your Home's Monthly Energy Usage

It would be safe to say that we would all like to have our energy bill to grow smaller, not bigger, with every passing month. However, to be able to accomplish that, we would need to focus on changing our habits when it comes to how much of it we use. The problem is that the bills that you see in your mailbox every month do not tell you exactly how you used your energy, only the total amount of it, and of course, how much you owe.

 To be able to make a change in your habits for the better, it is important to calculate the usage of electricity in your home by different appliances. Since there is nothing out there that can conveniently make this calculation for you, the tips below will guide you through how to calculate home power consumption on your own.

 The Calculation

Before you can truly begin on the calculation, there are some pieces of information you are going to need. First and foremost, remember that it isn't just the biggest appliances in your home that take up energy, but anything that is connected to power, even those that are on standby.

 Once you have narrowed down the appliances that you'd like to use for your calculations, you will need to find out the wattage, the rate of cost for your electricity, as well as how long the appliance is plugged in throughout the day. Appliances and other electronics will come with a label that helps you gather information concerning wattage. If, for some reason, the information is not on the device itself, it should be within an owner's manual.

 The calculation is rather simple. You will begin by multiplying the wattage of the device by the amount of time that it is used per day. An example here could be a 120-watt device being used on an average of five hours throughout the day. This will bring you to 600-watt hours per day. Since most energy providers charge per kilowatt, you will then take the number and divide it by 1,000 to get the kilowatt-hour per day or abbreviated as kWh per day. In the case of our device, we will take 600 and divide it by 1,000 to get .6 kWh per day. If this is a device we use daily, we take .6 and multiply it by 30 to get 18 kWh in a month. Let's say in our example that we are charged 15 cents per kWh. This means that we will take 18 and multiply it by .15 to get $2.70 a month.

Energy Labels

Though the calculation itself was not hard, it can be tedious to do over and over again. Some of the larger appliances will come with an Energy Guide label that may already house some of this calculation for you. Therefore, it is best to check it before you commit to calculating every appliance in your home from scratch. The labels are usually a distinctive color combination of black and yellow, making them easy to spot. These labels are an excellent tool for comparing appliances without having to go through the same calculation yourself.

 Other Options

Completing a calculation on your own may seem like a daunting task. In that case, the Internet may come in as a useful tool as there are plenty of estimators out there. Though they may not be entirely without error, they can provide you with a general estimate that will point you in the right direction. Most of them will ask you for some of the same information, while others will estimate the appliance wattage based on the type of appliance you are looking at. Overall, they can be a great tool should you want to make some quick calculations, especially at a time when you may be thinking of switching to more energy-efficient appliances and need help with making the decision.

 Conclusion

Whether you decide to make the extra effort and get as close to an accurate calculation as possible or the internet estimators, this is an excellent way to get a general idea of the monthly energy usage throughout your home. It is the first step to make some changes to your existing habits if they point toward high energy usage. You can take steps to lower your energy usage by unplugging unused appliances or switching out old appliances for something more energy-efficient. Remember that older appliances are known to use more energy, investing in a more energy-efficient one a long-term investment.