Which household activities use the most electricity?

[Greaseball]

From this list: lights, washer/dryer, dishwasher, oven, microwave, coffee grinder/blender/other kitchen appliances, garage door opener, TV, stereo, computer...

Which is the biggest user of electricity? Which does not use that much? I'm trying to make small changes in my use of electricity so I want to focus on the biggest wasters for now.

[Throkmorton]

BC hydro has an awesome calculator here: https://ewb.bchydro.com/appcalc/pg1.asp?id=0
Just remember, though, that we only pay 6c kw/h here, so it is pretty likely you pay more for your activities.

IMO, appliances that heat will probably be the most expensive like your dryer, oven and microwave. Also, the bigger the TV, the more electricity it uses.

[CerridwenLorelei]

you can also call your power company and ask them

what are "peak hours" for your area
by doing laundry and running dishwashers off peak it saves money too

[the_lissa]

Originally Posted by CerridwenLorelei

what are "peak hours" for your area
by doing laundry and running dishwashers off peak it saves money too

It depends where you live. Right now, where i live, it is the same price all the time, but they are looking into price changes based on peak usage.

[Greaseball]

I didn't know there were peak hours! Is this the time when most people use their appliances? Or just times of day when the electric co charges more?

[the_lissa]

When more electricity is used. Some places charge more during peak hours, some don't.

[CerridwenLorelei]

ahh thanks lissa I didn't

know some areas do not do this

[the_lissa]

I think they all should though.

[TiredX2]

Originally Posted by Greaseball

I didn't know there were peak hours! Is this the time when most people use their appliances? Or just times of day when the electric co charges more?

When they were considering implimenting it around here (they have to change the meters when they go to this type of pricing structure) I think it was like 9pm-6am were the cheap hours. You can still help out your power company by using it during the "cheap" times but you won't directly see the financial difference.

[root*children]

I always thought the dryer and the computer were big energy suckers.
Our electric company does the "watt watchers" program. They don't really advertise it, so you have to ask about it. Basically, they charge you $20-ish to install the thing (don't ask me what the thing is, it was already installed when we moved in this house). Then they charge you $12 a month just for the program. But then during peak hours it costs .12 cents/kwh, and non-peak costs .03 cents/kwh. Compared to normal users getting charged 9 cents/kwh. Then on each bill they calculate the whole thing (the monthly fee plus all the kwh's) and tell you how much $$ you saved. Non-peak here is 1pm-5pm, and 9pm-7am. So if it's a cold night, it's okay to run the heater at night and make sure to turn it off in the morning, and we do chores in the afternoon, and try to cook dinner before 5pm (that doesn't always happen!). But we end up saving around $10 a month.
In the case of our company, it would only be worth it for families that have a signifigant number of appliances running off of electricity (not propane, etc.) b/c of the monthly fee.
Also, if you want it switched back to normal usage rates, that costs the $20 again.

[Mama2ElijahNRiley]

I had read somewhere that even if an appliance is off, but still plugged in, it continues to "suck" power at a very slow rate. Does anybody know if that's true? Ever since I read that I unplug all the countertop appliances when I'm done with them. LOL

[the_lissa]

Originally Posted by Mama2ElijahNRiley

I had read somewhere that even if an appliance is off, but still plugged in, it continues to "suck" power at a very slow rate. Does anybody know if that's true? Ever since I read that I unplug all the countertop appliances when I'm done with them. LOL

I'm not an expert, but I have read the same thing.

[aprons_and_acorns]

I'm pretty sure the microwave is really cheap. That surprised me because it produces so much heat.

[Rebecca]

Go to your local electric company's website. They'll probably have an energy calculator. If your state doesn't, use mine (NH) www.psnh.com.

I learned that the biggest energy suckers were:

Hot water tank (turn down to 125 degrees, insulate or update if possible, wash clothes on cold when possible)
Dishwasher's dry cycle (turn it off and open the door to air dry)
Clothes Dryer (try drying for 1/2-1/4 the time to fluff the clothes then airdry)
Vacuum cleaner uses a lot (if you actually vac more than 2x/month like I do! :LOL )
Oven (bake in batches, use toaster oven for smaller things, crockpot when possible)
Coffee maker (well, if you have the hot plate on all day long like I do, pour coffee into insulated caraffe and turn the coffee maker off)
TV
Computer/monitor (the electric company rep told me that 2 computers on 24/7 adds $50 to our bill. We shut the machines down at night now, and turn the monitors off when we're not using during the day)
100 watt lightbulbs (they really add up)
Same for 2 bulb florescents... cost me $15 to have my kitchen light on 24/7 like we had been doing for a night light)

Air conditioners/dehumidifiers are a HUGE energy suck. Same for electric heat generators/space heaters if you use them.

Hope that helps!!

[A&A]

It also depends on how energy-efficient your appliances are. Look for the "energy star" rating when you are shopping for new major appliances.

[ekblad9]

$50/month more for the computers on 24/7!! That's huge! I usually turn the monitors off but leave the computer on. I'll be turning them off from now on! Thank you!

[the_lissa]

Originally Posted by ekblad8

$50/month more for the computers on 24/7!! That's huge! I usually turn the monitors off but leave the computer on. I'll be turning them off from now on! Thank you!

Whoa! Our elec bill is only about 50 dollars a month and we leave the computer on 24/7.

[PikkuMyy]

Laptops use WAY less energy than desktops. Plus, you can set the energy levels so that it sleeps when you're not using it (both screen and hard disks) and then barely uses any energy. But Hibernating is the way to go if you have windows XP as it turns off the computer but saves everything on the screen that you were doing before and only takes a few seconds to start up again.

Most older appliacances use electricity when they're off. If they have a box that's part of the plug, or if they require a remote. That's why the TV is on even when it's not "ON" so that the remote works. New energy star appliances don't do that any more. Our TV isn't on unless it's "ON" and so it takes about 5 seconds to turn on instead of turning on instantly.

Also, gas ovens with pilot lights don't use any electricity. Unfortunately gas ovens with electric ignitors, like mine, require the "glow bar" to be on the whole time the oven is on, so they use a ton of electricity. Pilot light ovens are the best. Plus you can use them even if the power goes out.

Elextric dryers use a ton of electricity, much more than washers.

Lights - it all depends on what type of bulbs they have. You should have either LED or compact-flourescent for the best energy effeciency as well as insane life. I've had the same light bulbs for 5 years and they'll probably last another 10. If I had CF with a reusable ballast (the big fat base of it) and a replaceable bulb, they'd last forever.

[Honeybee'smama]

I used to live in a community that was off the grid. Our electricity came from a hydro on a creek that was mostly frozen in the winter. Thus we had to be super tight with power. We were not allowed to use dryers at all -they are huge as far as energy suckers go. Microwaves really are pretty low. Most appliances will say somewhere how many watts they use. Don't know if that applies to bigger things like computer/TV/stereo.