How to Calculate Appliance Energy Costs
Appliance consumption in your home can have a strong impact on your energy bills. According to Rik DeGunther, author of "Energy Efficient Homes for Dummies," approximately 40 percent of your energy bill comes from your appliances. Refrigerators, water heaters, washers and dryers can be the biggest energy-draining appliances. You can lower your energy bills by using your appliances more sensibly, however. To do that, you need to understand how many kilowatt hours (kWh) you use annually on your electric bill and how much it is costing you. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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1
Compile data on how long each appliance is on per day. Figure daily usage by dividing the number of hours the appliance is on by the number of days in the week.
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2
Determine how much power each appliance consumes. Each appliance should have a label with wattage information. If not, check the instruction manual or manufacturer's website for the information.
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3
Calculate the monthly cost of each appliance. Divide the wattage of the appliance by 1,000. Multiply the resulting number by the number of hours the appliance runs per day. Multiply that figure by the rate per kWh set by your power company. Multiply the total by 30 days to get the electricity cost per month for that appliance. A 900-watt washing machine, for example, costs $3.48 per month at .86 hours per day and 15 cents per kWh.
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Add the number for each appliance to get the total appliance energy cost per month.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have a gas appliance, use a different equation. Multiply the CCF, which stands for 100 cubic feet, by 1.024 to figure the cost per therm. To calculate the cost per hour of a gas appliance, divide the British Thermal Unit (BTU) by 100,000 and multiply the result by the cost per therm.
