Energy Education | OhmConnect - Electricity Usage

Saving energy during #OhmHours starts with understanding your home's electricity usage. Here's how North American residential electricity usage consumption typically breaks down:

So... what does that mean for your #OhmHours? Here are our tips to cover the majority of electricity in your home:

Home Cooling

Turn off central AC

3.50 kWh

Turn off window A/C unit

0.50 - 1.50 kWh

Turn off central fan

0.30 kWh

Example: Turn off central A/C, central fan and one large window A/C unit on a hot day = 5.3 kWh savings

How to automate: connect a smart thermostat

Home Heating

Turn off space heater

1.32 kWh

Turn off furnace fan

0.30 kWh

Example: Turn off central heating and 2 space heaters on a cold day = 2.94 kWh savings

How to automate: connect a smart thermostat

Lighting

Turn off 10 60W bulbs

0.60 kWh

Turn off 10 14W fluorescent bulbs

0.14 kWh

Turn off 10 7W LED lightbulbs

0.07 kWh

Example: Turn off all 30 incandescent bulbs in your house = 1.80 kWh savings

How to automate: connect smart light bulbs or lamps to smart switches

Water Heating

Don't use hot water + avoid running heater for 15 minutes

1.13 kWh

Put heater on smart plug + avoid average usage of 7.5 minutes per hour (most water heaters run for 3 hours/day)

0.56 kWh

Example: Taking a hot shower, running a load of laundry and the dishwasher would have caused your heater to run for 1 hour. You do these things after the #OhmHour = 4.50 kWh savings

How to automate: If your water heater is electric, put it on a smart plug so it won't heat water during #OhmHours.

Refrigeration

Put fridge on a smart plug or unplug it (the FDA reports a fridge keeps food cold for 4 hours if the door is kept closed)

0.10 - 0.23 kWh

Example: Turn off two average-sized fridges for an hour = 0.30 kWh savings

How to automate: Put your refrigerator(s) on a smart plug

Entertainment

Turn off entertainment system
(TV, cable box, video game system)

0.24 - 0.48 kWh

Turn off 2 desktop computers

0.06 kWh

Unplug 2 laptop computers

0.16 - 0.24 kWh

Turn off stereo system

0.03 kWh

Example: Unplug entertainment system and use 2 laptops on battery = 0.54 kWh savings

How to automate: Plug your entertainment system into one power strip and put it on a smart plug

Laundry

Avoid running clothes washer for 1 hr

0.26 kWh

Avoid running clothes dryer for 1 hr

2.79 kWh

Avoid running iron for 15 min

0.28 kWh

Avoid running vacuum for 15 mins

0.14 kWh

Example: Instead of running washer & dryer for 1 hour, wait until after #OhmHour = 3.05 kWh savings

How to automate: Put a smart plug on your dryer in case you forget about the #OhmHour, and finish the drying later

Kitchen

Avoid running electric oven at 350 degrees for 1 hr

2.00 kWh

Avoid running dishwasher for 1 hr

0.33 kWh

Avoid running microwave for 5 min

0.13 kWh

Avoid running toaster for 5 min

0.09 kWh

Avoid running coffee maker for 5 min

0.08 kWh

Example: Wait on baking those brownies and doing the dishes until after the #OhmHour = 2.33 kWh savings

How to automate: Put your electric oven on a smart plug

Still hungry for more? Head over to the OhmConnect Blog to read all our tips for beating your forecast and hitting an #OhmRun.

#OhmHour Success Guide
How much energy does my stuff use?

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#OhmHour Success GuideHow much energy does my stuff use?

Company

Help

Community

#OhmHour Success Guide
How much energy does my stuff use?