When most people look at their electric bill, they just glance at the total to see how much they have to pay that month.
Some might look to see if the meter reading matches the one on their meter at home, but very few people look further than that. If this describes you, you’re missing out on an important piece of information about the way you use electricity: the number of kilowatt-hours you use each month.
Knowing what a kilowatt-hour is and what it can power can save you money. This knowledge can help you monitor electricity usage, make educated choices about saving energy, and lower your monthly electric bill. You’ll also learn the formula to convert KW to kWh.
What is a Kilowatt-Hour?
A kilowatt-hour, otherwise known as a kWh, is a way to measure how much energy you’re using.
It’s not the number of kilowatts you’re using in an hour, even though that seems to make sense. A kWh equals the amount of energy you would use by keeping a 1,000 watt appliance running for one hour. In metric, 1,000 = kilo, so 1,000 watts equals a kilowatt.
For instance, if you turned on a 100 watt bulb, it would take 10 hours to use one kilowatt-hour of energy. A 2,000 watt appliance, on the other hand, would only take half an hour. It all comes down to dividing the number of watts in an appliance into 1,000.
Kilowatt-Hour vs. Kilowatt
What’s the difference between kilowatt vs. kilowatt-hour? A kilowatt is 1,000 watts, which is a measure of power. A kilowatt-hour is a measure of the amount of energy a certain machine needs to run for one hour.
So, if you have a 1,000 watt drill, it takes 1,000 watts (or one kW) to make it work. If you run that drill for one hour, you’ll have used up one kilowatt of energy for that hour, or one kWh.
What Can a Kilowatt-Hour Power?
Obviously, every appliance in your home will use a different amount of power. Here are some of the usages for the more (or less) common items in a home:
- 50″ LED Television: around 0.016 kWh per hour
- Electric dishwashers: around 2 kWh per load
- Most ovens are around 2.3 kWh per hour
- Electric water heater: 380-500 kWh per month
- Refrigerator (24 cu. ft frost free Energy Star): 54 kWh per month
- Clothes Washer (warm wash, cold rinse): 2.3 kWh per load
- Clothes Dryer: 2.5 – 4.0 kWh per load
- Air Conditioner (3 ton 12 SEER): 3.0 kWh per hour
- Nissan Leaf Electric Car – 40 kWh per full battery charge
- Amazon Echo, Telling a Joke – 4 watts per joke (not sure how many hours you want to listen to that…)
Or consider this for your business office. That 2-warmer Bunn coffee maker in the break room? It’s a 1,575 Watt device. Run that from 6am to 6pm, Monday through Friday? And it’s 378 kWh on your monthly electricity bill.
The Energy Guide label on newer appliances will include the estimated yearly electricity usage. Multiply that by your rate per kilowatt-hour and you have the cost to use that device.
If you want to know moreabout the Energy Guide label and what appliances use the most electricity, we have additional resources for you.
How Do I Calculate How Many kWh an Appliance Uses?
Heating and cooling your home use the most electricity, and are around 50% of your bill. But in second place are your appliances, at around 20% of your bill.
You can calculate how much power they use with a simple exercise. This can help you figure our how many kWh your house uses per day and where the power goes.
- Make a list of major appliances in your home (washing machine, dish washer, refrigerator, television should be on there…)
- Look for a tag on the appliance that looks like this:
- Write down the number of watts consumed by that appliance
- In the next column, write down how many hours a day you use that appliance.
- Now calculate the kWh for each appliance, following this example:
Appliance: Refrigerator
Number of Watts: 300 watts
Hours used per day: 8 hours (while it keeps your food cold all day long, the motor is only running about 8 hours a day)
300 watts X 8 hours = 2,400 watt-hours per day
2,400 watt-hours per day / 1000 = 2.4 kWh per day
2.4 kWh per day X 30 days in a month = 72 kWh per month
Here’s another example:
Appliance: Dishwasher
Number of Watts: 1200 watts
Hours used per day: 2 hours
1200 watts X 2 hours = 2,400 watt-hours per day
2,400 watt-hours per day / 1000 = 2.4 kWh per day
2.4 kWh per day * 30 days in a month = 72 kWh per month
There are also several online resources and calculators that can help you with this, if you prefer that to pen, paper and calculator! Or create a spreadsheet to help you on this project.
How Much Electricity Does an Air Fryer Use?
Air fryers are one of the more popular kitchen gadgets, so we’ll do the math for you.
The average air fryer is 1450 watts. And the amount of electricity your air fryer uses will depend on what you are cooking and for how long.
Let’s say we’re cooking some air fryer fried chicken, which will take around 30 minutes at 400*.
Air Fryer Wattage: 1450
Time used: .5 hours
1450 watts X .5 hours = 725 watt-hours used
750 watt-hours / 1000 = .75 kWh to cook fried chicken in an air fryer.
So if you ate fried chicken every day for a month (yum), in a month your air fryer would use 22.5 kWh of electricity. In Texas, where the average electricity price is 11.5 cents per kWh, you’d spend $2.59 using your air fryer.
What Does a kWh of Electricity Cost?
The cost of kWh varies depending on where you live. In deregulated markets, what you pay per kWh can also vary depending on whether you have selected an alternative energy supplier.The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports on average prices by state.
Residential customers in Texas, where deregulation has been in place since 2001, pay an average of 11.5 cents per kWh, compared to the national average of 12.87 cents per kWh.
How Many kWh Does a House Use Per Day?
One common question is, how many kWh does a house use per day?The amount of kWh you use will depend on:
- How big your residence is
- The age of your home (especially related to insulation)
- The number of people living there
- The type, number and age of appliances
- How you heat or cool your home
- Whether you have a pool
- The climate you live in
According to the EIA, in 2017, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential home customer was 10,399 kilowatt hours (kWh), an average of 867 kWh per month. That means the average household electricity consumption kWh per day is 28.9 kWh (867 kWh / 30 days).
Customers in some areas, like Texas, consume even more.
- The average annual household electricity consumption for a Texas home is 14,112 kWh. That’s 36% higher than the national average.
- The average home in Texas uses 1,176 kWh per month.
- The Texas average kilowatt usage per day is 39.2 kWh.
How to See Your Electricity Usage
The easiest way to see how much electricity you use is to simply check your electric bill. Your electricity provider will show the number of kilowatt-hours you use each month. Some have also started to add small charts on your bill so you can see monthly trends and patterns.
In addition, if you have a Smart Meter, your electricity provider probably also provides online tools for you to track your usage. Some also send out weekly status reports to your email to show you how much electricity you have used in the past week and forecast how much you will use in the upcoming week.
If you are interested in reducing your electricity bill, knowing your kWh usage is the first step. Take some time to look at your electric bill and check out your electricity provider’s online tools to monitor your usage. When you’re ready to shop for your next electricity plan, you will be more familiar with your usage patterns and be able to find the perfect electricity plan for your lifestyle.
How to Lower Your Electric Bill
One of the best ways to lower your electricity bill is by being energy-conscious.
It begins by doing simple things like turning off the lights when you leave the room and adjusting yourthermostat when you go to work. You can take even more control over your expenses by paying attention to your appliances. Those that are on standby all the time, such as televisions, computers and stereo systems, use power all day long even when they’re not turned on.
In addition, use energy saving appliances every chance you get. When it’s time to buy a new microwave oven or dishwasher, the kWh rating is one of the first details you should check. Look for the yellow ENERGYGUIDE product labelto find the energy usage for an appliance and see if it is ENERGY STAR compliant.
If you are in a deregulated electricity market like Texas, Ohio or Connecticut, you can shop for a cheap electricity rate. Your local utility company continues to deliver electricity to your home, respond in the case of a power outage and read your meter. However, your supply can come from a competitive retail energy supplier. This allows you to pick from a fixed rate plan, prepaid electricity, free nights or free weekends, and green energy. Or you can select the cheapest electricity provider in your area.
Read more:12 Ways to Reduce your Electricity Costs
