How Much Electricity Do My Appliances & Electronics Use?

How Much Electricity Do My Appliances & Home Electronics Use?

How much electricity do my appliances and home electronics use? Read along with APG&E to learn what's costing you! While many parts of the electricity industry are complicated or opaque, the billing mechanism of "price * quantity = cost" is simple. The easiest way to reduce your overall energy cost is to reduce the quantity of electricity consumed, since you may not have as much control over your electricity price (cost per kWh). If you are interested in reducing the quantity of electricity you use, it can seem difficult to know where to begin.

Fortunately, it’s easy to find out how much electricity devices use on average. It is often possible to make meaningful reductions in your monthly energy consumption without impacting your quality of life. Here is a summary of how much electricity certain devices use and how much it will cost the average home in a year. (Using a customer size of a 15,600-kilowatt hour per year and an electric rate of 12 cents per kWh)

It's probably no surprise to an electricity user in my part of the country (Texas) that the air conditioner is one of the largest sources of consumption. Air conditioner usage comes in at 4,500 kWh/yr or about $540 per year. You may be shocked to learn that a pool pump can cost more per year than an air conditioner, but water is very heavy, and it takes a lot of energy to circulate that water 8 hours day all year long. If these costs have your head spinning, fear not, there are ways to cut them. Contact the best electricity company in Houston for more. 

Let's Get To The Details

How Much Electricity Does An Air Conditioner Use

Usage: 4,500 kWh per year
Cost: $540 per year
Why?: It takes a lot of energy to literally change the climate inside your home. In some climates, the A/C can work 16 hours a day.
How to Help: The easiest recommendation is to invest in a programable thermostat. These devices make it easy to schedule your temperature changes throughout the day, allowing you to avoid cooling your home when no one is there. Additionally, during the summer months, keeping blinds closed and covering your windows with curtains can make a huge impact. Finally, ceiling fans can reduce the feeling of temperature in a room up to 4 degrees, allowing you to set the thermostat higher without feeling the heat.

How Much Electricity Does a Pool Pump Use

Usage: 6,250 kWh per year
Cost: $750 per year
Why?: Water is heavy and it takes a lot of energy to move that much water through a filter for 8 hours a day.
How to Help: If you currently have a single speed pool pump, you can significantly reduce your annual electricity expenses by getting a variable speed pump. They work just as well (maybe even better) but only consume half the energy of a single speed pump saving you about $400/yr.

How Much Electricity Does Lighting Use

Usage: 1,100 kWh per year
Cost: $130 per year
Why?: Creating light using incandescent bulbs is inefficient and creates a lot of heat.
How to Help: To reduce your lighting expense, replacing older incandescent bulbs with newer LED lights can save you close to $100/yr.  LED bulbs are typically 5 times as efficient as incandescent bulbs, and last for much longer.  The price of LED bulbs has dropped significantly in recent years, which means you can start saving money on your electricity bill sooner!

How Much Electricity Do Power Vampires Use

Usage: 1,000 kWh per year
Cost: $100 per year
Why?: Devices that use power even when they are off are referred to as power vampires since they suck the energy right out of the wall and take money right out of your pocket.  You may not be aware, but even when devices such as you TV, printer, coffee maker, and phone charger are turned off, they still draw some electricity and cost you money.
How to Help: Unplug these devices or use a power strip (that you flip off when not in use) to save money every year.  It will add up!

Go Forth and Conquer…. Your Energy Bill

With this information on how much electricity devices use, you can make better decisions about where you want to spend your hard-earned money. Using the techniques we discussed will reduce your overall energy usage throughout your house and lower your electricity bill.

If you’d like to take your home electricity usage analysis further, check out this detailed device calculator from Energy.gov that will help you estimate appliance and home electronic energy usage at the individual device/appliance level.

For more great information about your electricity bill, check out our guide. Your Electricity Bill - 6 Questions You Should Ask?

[1] Data gathered from the Energy Information Administration unless otherwise referenced
[2] www.inyopools.com/Blog/how-much-does-my-pool-pump-cost-to-run/
[3] Tesla Model 3 with 75kWh battery with 310 mile range assuming 85% charging efficiency; annual driving of 13,500 miles per US DOT