Household Power Consumption

Any familiy that lives modern life need to consume electricity. Power at home is used in many ways such as home heating or cooling, lighting, water heating, any day electronics such as TV, clothes cleaning and drying, computers and so on. These are typical use of home electricity.

According to recent surveys the household power consumption is distributed between:

• Home heating – 43%  
• Water heating – 21%  
• Lighting – 10%  
• Refrigerators and freezers – 6%  
• Home cooling – 5%  
• Use of kitchen cooking appliances – 5%  
• Home electronics such as TV, computers etc. – 4%  
• Washers and dryers – 4%  
• Other – 2%  

You can find much more information and ways to save on electricity bill by looking at Home Made Energy guide

This split may change over geographies, size of family, habits of household and other parameters but as one can tell from the facts above; if you really want to save money on electricity  you must focus on the most consuming elements

Here is a list of appliances or power consumers per category. You can use these examples to check one item after the other and think if you are using it efficiently and how to save on home power.

• Home heating – furnace, air conditioner, portable heaters.   
• Water heating – electrical heaters, solar heater, gas heaters  
• Lighting – light bulbs type, light bulbs strength (measured in Watts)
• Refrigerators and freezers – size, energy rating (look inside your refrigerator or at the back for a sticker with energy rating)  
• Home cooling – air conditioner, fan  
• Use of kitchen cooking appliances – wall ovens, microwave oven, electrical cooktops, toasters, contact grills  
• Home electronics - TVs, computers, home theater system, DVD/Blu Ray, game consoles,   
• Washers and dryers   

Most of the resources for power at home are from your local or state electrical company. The source for electricity manufacturers varies from coal, oil, solar, wind, nuclear and other. Many of them are direct contributors to the global warming so when you save power at home you actually helping to reduce the carbon footprint and helping to overcome the global warming phenomena. 

Consuming electricity has a direct link to the way you live but the power efficiency is also something to look at. There are many “power eaters” at home and plenty of “electricity wasters” that can be reduced. For example:

• when was the last time you checked for gaps in your home from which heat (or cool air) can run?
• When was the last time you cleaned your heater or air conditioning filter?
• Do you shut down your computer when you finish your gaming, browsing the internet or other use?
• Did you check what is the real light you need in your rooms and if you use the right light bulbs (there are many kinds that actually can save you money)?

These are all real, easy to implement activities that by applying them you can control your home power consumption and reduce 10-15% immediately. simply implement some of the tips (see our page for electricity saving tips).

If you really want to save on electricity take a look at Home Made Energy guide 

One very important thing to check with you local Power Company is the type of rates you pay. There are several types that have a direct impact on your monthly bill such as:

• do you pay more in summer then in winter times?
• Do you have daily peak and off peak rates?
• Does your power company allow you to install a home power system and sell her the leftovers of your own making electricity ( you can read much more on that at one of our guides such as Home Made Energy guide)?

Approach your local power company today to get a lot of details on how to reduce the home energy consumption.