Much has been said about conserving energy in recent years, which is important for many reasons, from trimming your bills to better conserving finite natural resources. The good news is that you can save on energy use by learning to calculate how much electricity appliances and electronics use and managing your usage.
Doing the math
Almost all electronics and appliances carry labels that indicate their energy use, most commonly expressed as the watts per hour that they use. Electric providers measure consumption in kilowatts (kWs), and there are 1,000 watts in each kW. A CFL light bulb that uses 20 watts will use one kW of electricity for each 50 hours it runs.
Large appliances, like central air conditioners, indicate their usage by noting the amps they pull. To find kW usage for these, simply multiply the amps by the voltage they use, which is typically 220. An air conditioner that uses 20 amps and 220 volts would consume 4.4 kW per hour, making it one of the biggest power consumers in your home.
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that water heating, drying clothes and keeping food cold follow, in that order, in terms of energy usage. An electric stove also uses a lot of power, based on how often you use it.
Reducing consumption
You don't need to sacrifice comfort or convenience when you save on energy use, as these tips show:
- Keep the cooling system's air filter clean to lower electrical consumption immediately. Annual service also improves performance, which decreases power usage.
- Turn off lights and fans in rooms you're not using.
- Turn the water heater down to 120 degrees F and drain a few quarts from it every three months.
- Keep your refrigerator full, since the extra food holds cold temperatures better than air.
- Unplug the chargers for portable electronics. They pull measurable amounts of power, even when they're not charging.
- Don't over-dry your wet clothes, or you can finish drying them outside when it's warm out.
If you'd like more tips on how to save on energy use in your home, please contact us at Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning. We've provided outstanding HVAC services for the Fort Wayne area since 1963.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in New Haven, Indiana and surrounding Fort Wayne area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about saving energy and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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