The Secret Lives of Energy - The Energy Solution

The Energy Story

The Energy Problem

The Energy Solution

	What Is Power
	Energy Inventory
	Sample Inventory
	Savings Worksheet
	Appliance Power Game

Appliance Efficiency

Renewable Energy

Secret Lives Title - The Energy Solution

Conserving Electricity

Print out the table below and fill in the numbers and calculations that follow. For each of the appliances listed below you will need to look on that appliance and find its power rating in watts. You will also need to find out how much your energy utility or company charges you for your electricity. Then estimate how many hours that you use each appliance in a year. .Finally, from this information, you can calculate for each appliance the energy use in kwatt hr/year and cost in $/yr. A set of sample calculations and some web sites to help you out are given below the table.

Energy Inventory

Cost of Electricity: $ / kwatt hr = ___________
#	Item	Power (kwatts)	Estimated Time (hr/yr)	Energy Use (kwatt hr/yr)	Cost ($/yr)
1	Toaster	.	.	.	.
2	Oven	.	.	.	.
3	Incandescent Lamp	.	.	.	.
4	Fluorescent Lamp	.	.	.	.
5	Television	.	.	.	.
6	Computer	.	.	.	.
7	Video Games (no TV)	.	.	.	.
8	Hair Dryer	.	.	.	.
9	Clothes Washer	.	.	.	.
10	Clothes Dryer	.	.	.	.
11	Table Fan	.	.	.	.
12	Hot Water Heater	.	.	.	.
13	Food Blender	.	.	.	.
14	Clock	.	.	.	.
15	Vacuum Cleaner	.	.	.	.
16	Space Heater	.	.	.	.
17	Clock Radio	.	.	.	.
18	Stereo (Amplifier)	.	.	.	.
19	CD Player	.	.	.	.
20	Power Drill	.	.	.	.
21	Touchier Lamp	.	.	.	.
22	Coffee Pot	.	.	.	.
23	Refrigerator	.	.	.	.
24	Cordless Phone	.	.	.	.
25	Electric Blanket	.	.	.	.
26	Air Conditioner	.	.	.	.
27	Dishwasher	.	.	.	.
28	Microwave Oven	.	.	.	.
29	Small Freezer	.	.	.	.
30	.	.	.	.	.

Sample Calculations

Let's say that you found that your microwave oven has a power rating of 120 watts. To convert that into kilowatts you must divide by 1000 as follows. Place this number in the table.

120 w / 1000w = 0.12 kw

You estimate that your microwave oven is used 3 hours per day. Multiply by 365 days per year to get the hours used per year as follows:

3 hr/day x 365 hr/yr = 1095 hr/year

Now you can calculate your energy consumption by multiplying the power in kw times the time used in hr/yr as follows:

Energy = P t \

Finally, we can multiply the energy used in kw hr / yr by the cost in $ / kw hr to get the actual cost in $ / yr as follows:

You may need to do a search on the internet or look at your electricity bill to find the cost per kw hr. The calculated numbers are shown in the sample table below.

Cost of Electricity: $ / kwatt hr = ___0.077__
#	Item	Power (kwatts)	Estimated Time (hr/yr)	Energy Use (kwatt hr/yr)	Cost ($/yr)
28	Microwave Oven	0.120	1095	131.4.	10.12.

For more information on calculating your energy costs, check out the web sties below.

Estimated US Electricity Costs	Electricity costs in cents per kw hr for various areas and states in the United States.
Consumer Energy Information	Sample calculations for calculating yearly energy use for appliances and power requirements.
Calculate Your Power Needs	Includes a list of power requirements for a number of appliances.
Energy Units and Conversions	Lists other popular energy units and the energy content of various fuels.