Looking at hourly electrical usage can be enlightening and also a bit scary. For example, my electricity usage went up slightly at 3 and 4 o’clock this morning. How did that happen? I was sound asleep. I wonder if my DVR was updating, thus causing the router to use more power. That’s what I’ll tell myself anyway.
The picture above is my usage for Sunday. You can tell from this that I got up around 7:00. I turned on the light in the bedroom, turned on the coffee pot (I keep a light on in the kitchen at night), and turned on the TV. Around 8:00, I started the crock-pot to prepare Sunday dinner. The 9:00 hour is probably when I dried and fixed my hair. I really kicked the cooking into full gear and also threw a table cloth in the dryer around 11:00. The 2:00 increase was when I ran the dishwasher. The usage for that day was approximately 15 kWh, or approximately $1.95 in electricity. Like I expected, I’ve found that my Air Conditioner units are what has been causing my outrageous bills this summer. I guess that’s why insulation is supposed to be one of the best investments.
I have had a Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor plugged into the refrigerator for a couple of weeks and according to the figures it gives me, the refrigerator is averaging .07 kWh which according to this chart would be about right. The .07 kWh would be approximately 613 kWh in a year which is pretty close to average. I bought my fridge in 2002 and the freezer is on the bottom which is supposed to be a little less efficient. According to OG&E, I tend to steadily use around .30 kWh. I wonder what accounts for the other .23 kWh. It’s only $0.03/hr but I would have thought that the refrigerator would have accounted for more than it does. I guess I’ll have to use the Kill A Watt with my computer, televisions and DVR’s and see if they account for the rest.
On one hand it seems a bit excessive to figure out how you’re using electricity down to the penny but it’s also a bit fascinating and addictive. Think I’ll go move the Kill A Watt. How do you reduce your electricity bills?
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