Nowadays, everything runs on electricity and not a day goes by that you do not spend using your computer, phone, stove, and other compartments that are most necessary for you. After all, since you are so dependent on it, it is only fair to learn everything you should know about power usage. This will not only help you understand how much power you are spending daily but also explain the bills and how they are measured. Follow this article to see what you need to know about this.
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What should you know about power usage?
Nobody likes when the bills pile up, and even less when they are very big. However, when you do have a large amount to pay for electricity, you have to know why it is so. You should also know that there are alternatives like generators and cordless tools that run on batteries that help you save a lot of money. Once you look at these power equipment reviews, you will see how smart of an investment it is to buy something that can be very beneficial for you in the long run. However, you first must learn about power usage, and here is what you need to know.
What terms do you need to know?
You are probably not a fan of bureaucracy, and the terms you are reading on your electricity bill often seem like that, especially when you are mad about its size. A lot of the lingo seems dull and meaningless, but it is not. To make things even worse, there are no universal terms, but they rather vary from country to country. Here are the US terms:
- Kilowatt (kW) – the power of this measure by looking at the speed at which something is being used up. The simplest way to put it is that the more Kilowatts used, the more energy you have “burned”. One kW represents 1,000 watts which are equal to Joule per second (J/s). What you need to know about this is the following: if the rating of your device says it uses 1 kW of power, and it works for one whole hour it takes 1kWh of energy. If your device uses 100 watts over a 10-hour-long period, it utilizes 1 kWh of energy.
- The Kilowatt Hour (kWh) is the measurement used to measure energy. To put it in simple terms, it represents how much “fuel” something contains and how much energy is used over a certain period of time. It is equal to one kilowatt of power that is sustained during one hour.
What tools do you need to stake vamp energy?
Measuring every household tool to learn what are the ones that pump up the numbers on the bills is a very long and exhausting process. Because of that, you should use an energy vampire calculator where you register all the devices you have plugged in constantly, and it will guess how much power they are wasting. Here are the things that are probably using up a lot of power without you even noticing:
- desktop computer
- mobile charger
- computer display
- laptop
- printers
- TV
What uses the power in your home?
The most important thing you must know is what exactly uses the most electricity inside your home to know why your bills are the way they are. Many things around the house could be classified as “big spenders” but there are 5 main groups that they can be divided into. Here are the things that use the most juice inside the house:
- Water heaters – whether they are in your bathroom or inside your kitchen, these heaters use a lot of energy and approximately around 14% of all power usage goes to them. They averagely run for around 3 hours a day and use up to 4,500 watts creating an expensive device that you surely need. You can reduce the costs by setting a lower temperature or insulating the hot water pipes.
- Air conditioning and heating – HVAC systems are huge spenders and can spend up to 46 percent of your average energy consumption. Be careful with this compliance, and sometimes it is smarter to use ceiling fans.
- Appliances like refrigerators, washers and dryers, dishwashers, and your electric oven and stove spend a lot of electricity. Always make sure that you do not keep them turned on for longer than they need to be.
- The lights around your house sometimes probably shine from the minute you wake up until you go to sleep. While they are not huge spenders in the start, they do pump up the bills when you think about how much you use them.
- TV and other media equipment are also smaller spenders, but you still use them every day. The TV is often on while your laptop and phones are being charged every day.
There, now that you know the basics, you know why your electrical bill is so big. Now that you also know about alternatives, you should start using them today. There are many ways to save money, so make sure you see all the tips for it. Start living better today!
