Estimating Appliance and Home Electronic Energy Use
If you're trying to decide whether to invest in a more energy-efficient appliance or you'd like to determine your electricity loads, you may want to estimate appliance energy consumption.
Formula for Estimating Energy Consumption
You can use this formula to estimate an appliance's energy use:
(Wattage × Hours Used Per Day ÷ 1000 = Daily Kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption
(1 kilowatt (kW) = 1,000 Watts)
Multiply this by the number of days you use the appliance during the year for the annual consumption. You can then calculate the annual cost to run an appliance by multiplying the kWh per year by your local utility's rate per kWh consumed.
Wattage
You can usually find the wattage of most appliances stamped on the bottom or back of the appliance, or on its nameplate. The wattage listed is the maximum power drawn by the appliance. Since many appliances have a range of settings (for example, the volume on a radio), the actual amount of power consumed depends on the setting used at any one time.
If the wattage is not listed on the appliance, you can still estimate it by finding the current draw (in amperes) and multiplying that by the voltage used by the appliance. Most appliances in the United States use 120 volts. Larger appliances, such as clothes dryers and electric cooktops, use 240 volts. The amperes might be stamped on the unit in place of the wattage. If not, find a clamp-on ammeter—an electrician's tool that clamps around one of the two wires on the appliance—to measure the current flowing through it. You can obtain this type of ammeter in stores that sell electrical and electronic equipment. Take a reading while the device is running.
Typical Wattages of Various Appliances
Here are some examples of the range of nameplate wattages for various household appliances:
· Aquarium = 50–1210 Watts
· Clock radio = 10
· Coffee maker = 900–1200
· Clothes washer = 350–500
· Clothes dryer = 1800–5000
· Dishwasher = 1200–2400 (using the drying feature greatly increases energy consumption)
· Dehumidifier = 785
· Electric blanket- Single/Double = 60 / 100
· Fans
o Ceiling = 65–175
o Window = 55–250
o Furnace = 750
o Whole house = 240–750
· Hair dryer = 1200–1875
· Heater (portable) = 750–1500
· Clothes iron = 1000–1800
· Microwave oven = 750–1100
· Personal computer
o CPU - awake / asleep = 120 / 30 or less
o Monitor - awake / asleep = 150 / 30 or less
o Laptop = 50
· Radio (stereo) = 70–400
· Refrigerator (frost-free, 16 cubic feet) = 725
· Televisions (color)
o 19" = 65–110
o 27" = 113
o 36" = 133
o 53"-61" Projection = 170
o Flat screen = 120
· Toaster = 800–1400
· Toaster oven = 1225
· VCR/DVD = 17–21 / 20–25
· Vacuum cleaner = 1000–1440
· Water heater (40 gallon) = 4500–5500
· Water pump (deep well) = 250–1100
· Water bed (with heater, no cover) = 120–380
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