Trivia with APG&E

Q: We buy our bread by the loaf, our gasoline by the gallon, and our electricity by the _______. Do you know what the unit of measure is for the electricity you use at home? 

A. Volt
B. Dekatherm
C. Kilowatt hour
D. Quark

The answer is C. Electricity is measured in kilowatt hours, commonly abbreviated “kWh.” It’s easy to get thrown off by the “h” at the end and think that kwh is a rate, the same way that “mph” is a rate of travel. But kilowatt hours are actually an amount of electricity, like gallons of gasoline or loaves of bread.

Q: We know dimming light bulbs for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner involves electrical energy, but what energy change takes place for a candle-light dinner

A. Mechanical to Electrical Energy
B. Chemical to Heat Energy
C. Mechanical to Heat Energy
D. Chemical to Mechanical Energy

The answer is B. Chemical to Heat Energy! When the candle burns for your romantic candle-light dinner, a chemical reaction occurs and produces heat. Some of the heat emanates in the form of radiation, and our eyes perceive it as light.

Q. How Many Miles Would You Need To Ride On An Exercise Bike To Charge A Standard Electric Car? 

A. 237
B. 152
C. 375
D. 171

And the answer is... C! A long range electric car has a 75kWh capacity. You would need to ride 375 miles on an exercise bike at 15 mph to produce 75kWh.

Q. Which Consumes More Energy? 

A. Cooking a cheese omelette
B. A 12-hour Netflix binge of your favorite show

750 watt-hours are used per cheese omelette and 667 watt-hours are used per binge. So, cooking a cheese omelette consumes more energy!

Think you know everything about your home energy use? Take the quiz to test your home energy IQ and see if you're the brightest bulb amongst your family & friends!

Be on the lookout for more energy trivia throughout January and February and be sure to follow along with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, where we will always announce the answers.