We all have received a high energy bill at some point. Now’s a good time to learn how to calculate your kWh rate, so that you can start saving.
Your electric meter reads your electricity consumption in kilowatt-hours (kWh). The kilowatt-hour rate is the amount you pay for power.
These numbers are important to know because they can tell you how power efficient you are and whether your electricity provider in Texas offers rates that are higher, lower, or the same as other providers.
Calculating Kilowatt Hour Rate
The kilowatt-hour rate is the price of power supplied by your electric provider. To calculate your kilowatt-hour rate, divide your total power bill, minus any taxes, by your total power consumption.
Once you have that number, you can use the following formula to calculate how much you pay for power.
For example, if your total monthly power bill is $327, your electricity taxes are $27, and your monthly power consumption is 2,500 kWh, your power cost is $0.12 per kWh.
A watt (W) is a measure of power. To translate watts into more familiar terms, the power consumption of light bulbs is rated in watts. A 60 W incandescent light bulb consumes seven and a half times more power than an 8 W LED light bulb to produce light of equal brightness.
You will often see power consumption expressed in kilowatts.(kW) because watts are relatively small units of power. One kilowatt equals 1,000 watts.
The manufacturer calculates the power rating for each of your major appliances and electronics and prints that power rating on a label on the device. For example, your microwave probably has a power rating between 600 W and 800 W.
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) expresses the amount of power consumed over a fixed period. The “kilowatt-hours” you see on your power bill expresses the amount of power that you consumed in a month.
kWh Explained
To calculate the kWh for a specific appliance, multiply the power rating (watts) of the appliance by the amount of time (hrs) you use the appliance and divide by 1000.
Example: Calculating Your Electricity Costs
| Step 1:Find the lightbulb’s kilowattage | 60 watts / 1000 = .06 kilowatts |
| Step 2:Determine your hours of use per month | 90 hours of use * .06 kw = 5.4 kWh |
| Step 3:Find your electricity rate | $0.09 * 5.4kWh = $0.486 |
This 60-watt lightbulb that we used for 90 hours in a month when we were charged $0.09/kWh cost us approximately 50 cents for the month.
To calculate your home’s or business’s power consumption, add up the power consumption for each device.
Other Ways to Find kWh
There are other ways to find your power consumption:
- Building meter:You can read the electric meter of your home or business at the beginning and end of the month and calculate the difference.
- Inline power meter: You can buy an inline power meter then measures the power consumption of the devices plugged into it. These meters are useful to find the trickle power consumption of devices that use electricity even when turned off.
- Power bill: Your power bill will include a measure of your monthly power consumption.
Discuss Your kWh Rate with Your Electricity Company in Corpus Christi
Learning how to calculate your kWh rate can be rather confusing for some. That’s why we’ve put together a simple-to-use energy rate calculator on our website.
FAQs
kWh = (watts × hrs) ÷ 1,000.
How do you calculate kWh rate? ›
To calculate the kWh for a specific appliance, multiply the power rating (watts) of the appliance by the amount of time (hrs) you use the appliance and divide by 1000. This 60-watt lightbulb that we used for 90 hours in a month when we were charged $0.09/kWh cost us approximately 50 cents for the month.
How do you calculate kWh rating? ›
First, you need to convert the number of watts into kW. To do that, you divide the number of watts by 1,000. So 100 W is 0.1 kW, 60 W is 0.06 kW, and 1500 W is 1.5 kW. To get the number of kWh, you just multiply the number of kW by the number of hours the appliance is used.
How to calculate your electric bill in Texas? ›
You can calculate your Texas electric bill by multiplying your kWh usage by the sum of your energy cost and TDU delivery charges listed in your Electricity Facts Label. Find out how your energy bill stacks up against the average in Texas.
How do you calculate electricity usage? ›
To calculate consumption, you multiply the power in kW by the hours you use the devices per day, per week or per month. For example, let's examine the consumption at the home of Agnes and Roman: The TV has a power of 200 W, that is, 0.2 kW. They have it on for 2 hours a day, so their daily consumption is 0.4kWh.
How many kWh per day is normal? ›
How many kWh does a house use? The average energy consumption for a house is around 893 kWh per month, totaling 10,700 kWh annually. This equates to an average daily electricity usage of about 30 kWh.
How much is a kWh in dollars? ›
1 KWH = 0.4643 USD.
How much is 1000 kWh of electricity? ›
To get a grip on 1,000 kWh, let's cover the terms: kWh is a measure of electrical work (it's equal to 1,000 watts of power for 1 hour). 1,000 watts is often called a kilowatt (1kW). So, 1,000 kilowatts = 1 million watts (also known as a Megawatt, or MW for short).
How much kWh is 1 unit? ›
What is a unit of electricity? One unit of electricity is equal to one kilowatt-hour. It is the amount of power required to use an appliance of 1000 watt power rating for an hour.
What is the kWh rating? ›
In distributed energy, battery energy storage has both power (kW) and energy (kWh) ratings. The power rating tells you the maximum amount of electricity it can deliver at one time. The energy rating tells you how long it would last at that maximum output.
Kilowatt-hours (kWh) is a measurement of energy. An energy label will tell you how many kilowatt-hours of energy an appliance uses over a period of time. This is an example of a TV's energy label that shows '50kWh / 1,000 hours'. This means the TV uses 50 kilowatt-hours of energy for every 1000 hours it's on.
How do you calculate watts per hour? ›
Here's the equation: (total number of watts) x (total number of hours) = watt-hours. So, if you have a 60W bulb and you're trying to calculate how many watts your bulb uses in 24 hours, your equation would read 60 watts x 24 hours = 1440 watt-hours. Or, to use the abbreviated measurement, the answer would be 1440Wh.
What is Texas kWh rate? ›
Here's a quick overview of Texas electricity rates: Current average retail rate of electricity: 14.58 cents per kilowatt-hour1. Current range of electricity prices in Texas: 10.9 to 23.5 cents per kilowatt-hour2. Average monthly electric bill: $162.173.
How much is a kWh bill in Texas? ›
The average cost of electricity in Texas is 14.63 cents per kWh. That's based on EIA data for February 2023. That includes both regulated and deregulated Texas markets. The average is based on both electricity and delivery costs.
How do you calculate kWh from volts and amps? ›
Let's say you are running a 20 amps electric device on a standard 120V circuit for 4 hours. Kilowatt-hour = 20A × 120V × 4H / 1000 = 9.6 kWh. Amps to kWh calculation is helpful when sizing the power station or battery.
How many kWh is 1500 watts? ›
If it is drawing 1500 watts, then it is drawing 1.5 kWh (i.e. 1.5 thousand watt-hours) every hour. So it draws 1.5 units of electricity per hour.
What is equal to 1 kWh? ›
Introduction to Electrical Units and Circuits
One kilowatt-hour (1 kWh) is equivalent to a power of 1 kW being used for 1 hour, or 0·5 kW for 2 hours, 2 kW for 0·5 hour, etc. 1 k W h = l kilowatt × 1 hour = 1000 watts × 3600 seconds = 3,600,000 watt-seconds or joules .
