A monthly electric bill is unavoidable in this day and age. While you know to expect it, something the number on your bill can shock you – especially after that first chilly winter night or hot week in the spring. Understanding the individual draws of each of your appliances is incredibly beneficial for keeping that bill as low as possible. Here are the average energy requirements for the most common household appliances and devices.
Television
The average American tends to watch about four hours of TV per day. An HD television that is at least 55 inches will consume about 230 watts of power per hour that it is turned on. Over the course of a year, this translates to around 335-kilowatt hours (kWh), costing you about $40 per year of view time. Though they still consume power when turned off, it’s a pretty small amount–generally less than 10 kWh per year–so the total cost of your television on average will be around $43. Though the cost is low, it can add up when you multiply it by the number of TVs in your home or if the TV is constantly on to entertain different family members. If you have multiple televisions, cutting down on your viewing time can save you a good chunk of change on your monthly electric bill.
Refrigerator
Unlike your TVs, your refrigerator is always running. This constant use does add up, but fridges are surprisingly efficient when properly sealed and maintained–they usually use about 400 kWh of electricity per year, which equals about $50. Remember, though, that inefficiency will cause this number to go up quickly. You should regularly check the seals around your fridge door to make sure no cold air is escaping and clean the coils behind the fridge to remove dust and grime. Clean coils mean that your refrigerator can cool itself efficiently, while dirty coils make it work harder to reach the temperature you’ve set.
Washing Machine and Dryer
The laundry costs add up on your electric bill –not only are the machines using electricity, but the washing machine uses about 15 gallons of water per load. Washing machines don’t use much electricity overall–only about 80 kWh per year, or $9-10. On the other hand, the dryer requires a considerable amount of power to run. In doing laundry for the average American family, a dryer will use about 815 kWh per year, equalling about $100. If you are looking to cut back on your laundry’s contribution to the electric bill, choose a cold water wash and consider air-drying some of your clothes to decrease your dryer use.
HVAC System
Cooling and heating your home requires the most energy by far out of all your appliances. A 3 ton AC unit, which can efficiently cool homes up to 1,800 sqft here in South Florida, uses about 3.5kWh per hour (or $0.42 per hour) to run. Though this doesn’t seem like a lot at first, it adds up quickly: if you run it for 9 hours each day from April through October, it would cost about $820. If you have a larger house or prefer to run the AC for a more extended period of time, that cost can shoot way up. Have your unit serviced annually to make sure it runs as efficiently as possible to save you money.
If your appliances are old, replacing them can do wonders to increase the efficiency of your home. Most appliances these days are built to conserve energy and ultimately cost you less over time than your old appliances do.
Another great way to conserve energy is to have a home electrical assessment. A professional electrician is qualified to inspect your home and make recommendations as to ways to save money.
Promise Electric is a team of master electricians serving commercial and residential accounts across the Sarasota area.
