Which Home Appliances Use the Most Energy?

Homeowners and business establishments are implementing energy saving initiatives on their own accord. These moves are wise on their part as energy saving activities are a must to conserve valuable resources and should have continuous implementation until the time technology is available that can produce renewable, environmental-friendly and really cheap electricity.

Although many have already started energy saving measures such as turning off the computer when not in use or using compact fluorescent lights instead of light bulbs to illuminate their rooms, many are not aware of how much their appliances are actually consuming electricity. While many are probably aware of what the Energy Star label means in their relatively newly purchased appliances, majority of homeowners may not be knowledgeable as to what appliance guzzles the most energy.

Knowing this information can help in planning your energy savings program so you can focus your actions in how to control or efficiently use appliances with the biggest energy consumption – resulting in more manageable electrical bills as well as reduced environmental impact.

How Much Electricity does Standard Home Appliances Use?

The 2007 Buildings Energy Data Book have listed space heating as the highest energy user in a home at 31% followed by space cooling at 12%. The remaining electrical energy usage is consumed by standard home appliances for various household applications. Although each individual appliance may not consume as much as heating or cooling, summing up all the electricity usage by these appliances can be significantly big. These appliances are ranked as follows:

Water Heating – 12%
Lighting – 11%
Computers and Electronics – 9%
Kitchen/Washing Appliances – 9%
Refrigeration – 8%
Other Appliances – 8%

The cost of using these appliances will depend on how long they are used multiplied by their rated electrical power consumption. The longer a higher-rated appliance is used, the higher the total electrical cost it will ensue. Appliances are rated in kilowatt-hours or kWh, where one kilowatt-hour means a consumption of 1,000 watts of electricity within one hour. The cost of using a particular appliance can be obtained by multiplying its rated kWh usage by how long it has been in use.

Appliances differ in their rated consumption based on how it is constructed and how it operates. As seen from the table listed above, heaters or appliances with heating elements consume the most electricity. Next in line would be appliances with electrical motors and compressors. However, some appliances have a combination of a motorized part as well as a heating element. This includes clothes washers and dish washers. These appliances consume more electricity if both the motors and the heaters are used in conjunction.

This knowledge can be useful for homeowners wanting to conserve energy in their homes. Simple changes like turning off the heaters for your dish and clothes washers during use can give significant savings in electricity. Use of more efficient appliances (ex: a new Energy-star efficient refrigerator versus a 10-year old energy guzzler) can likewise provide considerable energy savings that would do well for your wallet and the environment.

In many states where electricity is de-regulated you can also start saving money by simply switching your electricity provider.
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