How much are your appliances costing you?
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The easiest way to save money and reduce your electrical bill is to cut down on your electricity usage... but how do you find out which appliances are costing you the most to run?
It seems so simple - use less electricity and save money! But how much money are you really saving? And which appliances should you be using less of in order to reduce your electricity bill?
Does a TV, for instance, cost more to run than the washing machine? How does the microwave oven compare to an electric hot plate?
How to calculate your appliances' electricity cost
All you need in order to work out how much your appliances are costing you is to know the appliance's wattage and your electricity tarriff.
The wattage can usually be found on the appliance and refers to how much electricity your appliance uses per hour. It's typically a number followed by either 'W' or 'kW', for kilowatts.
So your electricity cost equals the wattage multiplied by the tarriff. For example, a tarriff of 15 cents/kWh (kilowatt hour) means that a 1000W (1kW) microwave would cost you 15c an hour.
Finally, you'd multiply (or divide) this based on how much you actually use that appliance.
This is getting complicated!
Not sure you follow? Then why not purchase an electrical meter. You can get basic electrical meters that simply plug into your appliance and record its usage and calculate the operating costs.
Electricity meters can be especially handy as they can give you an idea as to how much energy your appliances are using when they're in standby.
So which appliances are costing me the most?*
For a 4 person household with a 15c/kWh tarriff, the big spenders when it comes to electrical appliances are your:
- Hot water system, reaching as much as $80 a month
- Air conditioner, can get up to 50c an hour
- Refrigerator, up to $15 a month
- Spa Bath, over 70c an hour
- Clothes Dryer, 35c an hour
In comparison, some appliances we might think are expensive are actually quite energy efficient:
- LCD TV, just 3c an hour
- Personal Computer, 0.01c per hour
Finally, ever wondered why you're being encouraged to switch from incandescent globes to fluorescent? Well here's one reason why you should!
- Incandescent globe (100w), 1.5c per hour
- Compact fluorescent globe (11w), 1c every 6 hours
These values are just a guide and depending on your circumstances and the age of your appliances, they could be very different. So its strongly recommended that you do your own research and calculate exactly how much your appliances are costing you, personally.
For more information on how much your appliances cost you, check out:
*Values for appliance costs sourced from www.danthesparkyman.com.au/articles/operating-costs-of-electrical-appliances/
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