How to Calculate Cost Amps

Understanding how much energy an appliance uses helps to determine the total cost.

Cost is an important consideration when choosing a new appliance. Purchase and installation are easy to see. However, there are long-term costs with appliances as well. Understanding these long-term costs helps you assess the total cost of an appliance. To calculate the cost of energy an appliance uses, you will need to know the appliance's wattage, approximately how long you will use the appliance every day and the cost of local electricity.

Instructions

1. Write down the wattage of your appliance. This is generally stamped on the packaging or on the appliance's name plate.

2. Determine the number of amps your appliance uses by dividing the wattage of your appliance by the voltage in your home.

3. Multiply the wattage times the hours you will use the appliance per day and how many days per year. This will differ for specific appliances. For example, if you live in Indiana, your air conditioner may only run eight hours a day for six months out of the year. However, your refrigerator runs 24 hours a day 365 days a year. This gives you the total watts used in a year.

4. Divide the total watts by 1000 to get the number of kilowatts used per year.

5. Multiply the number of kilowatts by the cost per kilowatt set by your local electrical company. This amount is listed on your electrical bill. This gives you the total electrical cost of the appliance.

References

• Pond Solutions: Electric Costs
• US Department of Energy: Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use
• Power Stream: Amps to Watts