7 electrical appliances that make you pay much more for electricity

You've probably already heard that housing and communal services tariffs have increased again in Russia - this time by 2.4%. Meanwhile, the size of monthly utility bills can be reduced - although to do this you will have to save water and electricity. It seems clear what to do with water - if you don’t open the taps at full power and install water-saving attachments on the faucets, you can pay less for it. But what about electricity? Experts insist that seven devices consume the most electricity, which force us to regularly pay fabulous sums to utility companies. We tell you which devices cost us the most to operate.

• TV
• TV set-top box
• Fridge
• Washing machine
• Electric kettle
• Computer
• Charging device

TV

This electrical appliance is found in almost every home, and some even have a TV in every room. And, of course, most people never unplug the TV, not even realizing that it consumes electricity even in sleep mode - about 25 watts per day or 750 watts per month. Accordingly, two TVs “steal” twice as much electricity from you, and three TVs “steal” you three times. This is why you should unplug all televisions in your home, at least while you're away and sleeping.

Electricity consumption of an electric stove

Electric stoves are very popular among consumers. The amount of electricity consumed by a device is affected by the type of hob, which can be induction or heating element, the diameter of the burners, the power and functionality of the device.

On a note! An induction surface consumes less electricity compared to an electric one.

The power of a household appliance directly depends on the number of burners and their diameter, which can be 14.5; 18 and 20. Accordingly, energy consumption is 1; 1.5 and 2 kW.

The oven power corresponds to 1.8-4 kW. The minimum energy consumption with one operating burner is 1 kW. The maximum power of an electric stove is calculated taking into account the number of simultaneously operating burners and the operating mode of the oven. It can be 5-8.5 kW, as can be seen from the table of the power of household appliances and their energy consumption.

To save energy when operating an electric stove, you should follow some recommendations:

• it is necessary to choose the correct diameter of the pan for a specific burner;
• It is better to use dishes with a flat bottom;
• To save heat loss, the pan should be covered with a lid.

By following simple cooking rules, you can save energy consumption on your electric stove.

Fridge

The champion in electricity consumption is the refrigerator, and this is not surprising: this appliance is forced to cool and freeze your food 24 hours, seven days a week. Therefore, the average consumption is approximately 750 watts per day or 22.5 kilowatts per month. Of course, you won't be able to unplug the refrigerator, but you should know that the hotter it is in your kitchen, the more power it will need. So place it away from the stove and ventilate it more often.

Electric vehicle energy consumption

For lucky owners of electric vehicles, the amount in the receipt for light will increase significantly. Note that if you charge your car exclusively at home, without using the services of gas stations, you can reduce the cost of “refueling” by up to 2.5 times. How much does an electric car consume? Let's look at the example of the Nissan Leaf model.

The battery capacity of this car is 30 kW (24 kW is also available), which, according to the manufacturer, allows you to drive up to 160 km. The average Muscovite travels about 40 km per day, which is about a quarter of the Nissan Leaf battery charge. It turns out that you need to charge the battery once every four days, which is 7.5 * 30 = 225 kW per month. Per year this will be 225 * 12 = 2700 kW. For a Muscovite with a three-phase meter and a tariff the same as for an apartment with a gas stove, the cost of “refueling” an electric car will be: 2700 * 5.56 = 15,012 rubles/year. If you are not from Moscow, you can multiply by your tariff and get the amount.

Washing machine

Another exhibit that claims to be a leader in the ranking of the most “gluttonous” electrical appliances is a washing machine. Machines with a timer are especially expensive for their owners - after all, even in a sleeping state, such a device can spend about 30 watts per day. And to save a little, don’t wash things every day - wait until you have accumulated at least 2.5–3 kg of laundry. But you shouldn’t overload the drum either - this will also have a negative effect on the meter readings.

Table of electricity consumption by main electrical appliances by power

Power indicators of electrical appliances will help you make calculations, develop a rational approach to energy consumption and save money. The table shows the average power indicators indicated in the technical data sheets of devices used in citizens’ apartments:

Electric kettle

On average, an electric kettle consumes about 3 kilowatts per day - and this is provided that it works no more than an hour a day. Want to save money? Then heat exactly as much water as you need. There is no need to force the device to boil one and a half liters in order to drink just one cup of coffee.

How much does the air conditioner consume?

Now that we're in the summer, you can live glued to the air conditioner. You have to be very careful because your air conditioner can be one of the appliances that consumes the most light in the summer.

Air conditioning is estimated to account for 2.3% of domestic consumption . While this may not seem like much, you need to be extra careful with new time zones. If it works all day, it may scare you when the bill comes. Therefore, it is important to know how to choose an air conditioner.

It is also important to install the air conditioner in a place where it is not exposed to direct sunlight to prevent it from heating up. To reduce consumption, it is recommended to maintain the temperature between 24°C and 26°C.

In winter, air conditioning is also an important part of your home's light consumption. Heating consumes 11% of a home's energy .

When it comes to maintaining the temperature in your home, the best way to prevent your bills from skyrocketing is to invest in good insulation. And also avoid overusing heating or air conditioning or low-energy appliances.

The importance of efficient appliances

When talking about which electrical appliances consume the most light, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of energy efficiency. And that's why investing in efficient appliances can help you significantly reduce your energy consumption .

If your appliances are old, we recommend that you replace them with appliances that have an A energy efficiency label. Remember, this label rates the energy efficiency of appliances on a scale from A to G.

Having efficient appliances will help you save on your energy bills. It will also reduce the environmental impact of your consumption as they use energy more efficiently and produce fewer CO2 emissions.

Do you already know which household appliances consume the most? If you take this list and our tips into account , you will be closer to becoming an effective consumer . Plus, you can save even more if you switch to Gana Energía and take advantage of our cheap and 100% renewable electricity rates. Leave us your information so we can tell you more!

How to calculate electricity consumption for an apartment owner: 3 ways

I show 3 calculation technologies in order of complexity

The simplest method is an electric meter

The main role in electricity metering is played by the electric meter. It constantly converts the current flowing through it and the applied voltage into power, displaying them in an easy-to-read form.

Older induction meters use an electromechanical drive that operates by rotating an aluminum disk.

It has a rather vulnerable design from the point of view of electricity theft. It is attractive to dishonest people because it allows you to stop the counter or even make it rotate in the opposite direction in a fairly large number of ways.

In addition, their accuracy class is usually 2.5, which in some cases makes the calculation rougher.

Therefore, the induction meter is now being widely replaced by modern electronic devices that have increased protection against energy theft with many functions.

Any electric meter shows the consumption of electrical energy passing through it continuously from the moment of its installation. In order to find out the consumption for a certain period of time, for example, an hour, a day, a month, it is necessary to take its current and previous readings.

Then the value of the previous measurement is subtracted from the total operating time and the consumption is judged from the resulting difference.

When taking readings, pay attention to the last right digit. In most models it is a tenth of a kilowatt and is not used in calculations for paying for electricity; it is rounded up.

In order to avoid mistakes, it is shown in a separate window, highlighted in red or indicated in another way.

However, the meter, like a metering device, stands at the input and automatically adds up all the loads that flow through it.

The owner often needs to analyze the consumption of a single electrical appliance, which is inconvenient to do using a meter. To do this, it is necessary to completely de-energize all other consumers for a certain time and check the operation of only the one that interests you.

This is not the way to do it: there are simpler ways.

How to calculate electricity consumption based on consumer electrical values

The energy consumed by household appliances is related by formulas to:

• the amount of current passing through them to perform work;
• the value of the applied voltage;
• power;
• period of working time.

The electrician’s cheat sheet, as a generalized formula, helps to remember these characteristics and their relationships.

The first three parameters are usually indicated in the technical data sheet of the device and on its body: all or selectively.

To calculate consumption and pay for money, certain features must be taken into account. I look at them below.

Consumer voltage

In a modern apartment, 220 volts 50 hertz alternating current is usually used, and household appliances can operate on other quantities, including direct voltage. These are computers, video equipment, communications, digital equipment...

For them, special converters and power supplies are used, which also consume energy, which must be taken into account in the complex.

Load current

It is usually indicated for powerful consumers in amperes in order to accurately take into account and distribute the load on the wiring, select current protection settings, and connect electrical appliances to socket groups.

Based on current and voltage, the load can be easily converted into watts and kilowatts using an electrician’s cheat sheet.

Electrical appliance power

Here you need to be careful about the notation. Manufacturers use two types of display of device power consumption:

1. active component, indicated in watts or kilowatts (W, W, kW, KW);
2. the full value shown in volt-amperes (VA, VA).

The difference between them is covered in more detail in a separate article. Here you need to understand that the meter in household wiring measures the active power, and it is less than the total power by the reactive component.

Moreover, the latter quantity can be inductive, created by the operation of transformers, chokes, electric motors, or capacitive, formed by the flow of alternating current through capacitors and, for example, long cable lines.

Reactive power adds load to the wiring, but it is not taken into account by household meters. In other words: they don’t pay money for it.

Example: calculation of electricity consumption by power

Let’s say that two students rent a one-room apartment and use the same 2.1 kW electric kettle every day four times a day for 5 minutes (5∙4=20 min=1/3 hour).

In addition, the first student uses a computer with a consumption of 400 watts and 4 incandescent lamps of 60 watts each day for 4 hours.

The second apartment uses an 80-watt laptop and also 4 lamps, but LED lamps with a consumption of 8 watts each.

We first calculate the expense, and then the money for the day, week and month in the summary table.

Electrical characteristics

Calculation of the cost of using electricity at a price of 4 rubles per kilowatt

The table showed that a simple transition to energy-saving technologies can reduce the cost of payment by half.

However, this method is approximate and indicative. Real measurements provide more accurate results.

Modern energy consumption measuring devices for home use

Nowadays there are special devices on sale: household wattmeters, which are inserted into a regular outlet.

They may show:

• current power value at a given time or for a certain period;
• the magnitude of current and voltage;
• calculation of consumption at the entered tariff.

Such a measurement can be useful when checking the operation of newly purchased equipment to monitor its loads in different modes or analyze the consumption of one operating cycle.

The owner of the video “Shopping in a teahouse” showed a full overview of the functionality of this device in his video. He demonstrates the accuracy test of the device and explains the rules for communicating with it in the form of instructions.

When you don’t have such a wattmeter on hand, and the issue of checking the electrical consumer is urgent, you can get by with a simple digital multimeter. To do this, first switch it to voltmeter mode and measure the voltage.

The second step is to measure the current in the load circuit.

The third stage is calculating power by current and voltage using the previously described method.

Tips for saving power in standby mode

1. Turn off your appliances whenever possible.
2. When shopping for electrical appliances, choose those that have the lowest standby energy rating.
3. When choosing a device that will always be on, such as a refrigerator, look for the one that combines the lowest operating costs and the best performance.
4. Don't forget that the overall energy efficiency of the device is still the most important factor. Low standby power consumption doesn't matter if the device is a power "monster" when in use!
5. Try not to abuse electrical appliances, but do something yourself.

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