What uses the most electricity in your home?
Wondering how you can save energy at home? You've come to the right place.
What uses the most electricity in your home?
Wondering how you can save energy at home? You've come to the right place.
Understanding and managing your home's electricity usage is the first step to lowering your monthly bill. This guide will walk you through the top energy-consuming devices in your home, simple ways to reduce your consumption and how to use smart technology to your advantage.
Many homeowners are surprised to learn which appliances use the most electricity. While you might think your lights are a major factor, it's often the appliances that heat and cool that are the biggest contributors to your energy bill. Here's a look at some of the most common energy-intensive appliances:
To effectively lower your electricity bill, it helps to first understand where your energy is being used. Knowing which appliances are the biggest consumers and roughly what they cost to operate can empower you to make smarter choices. While large-scale home improvements can offer significant long-term savings, there are many simple, no-cost adjustments you can make to your daily habits that will have an immediate impact. These small changes can add up to noticeable savings on your monthly energy bill:
To help you pinpoint where you can save, the chart below provides a detailed breakdown of the estimated energy consumption and annual cost for common household appliances and electronics.
Appliance / Device |
Power Consumption (W) |
Annual Consumption (kWh/yr) |
Annual Cost | Savings with 50% < Consumption |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
On |
Idle |
Off |
||||
Electronics |
||||||
| Digital TVs, ED/HD TC, >40" | 234 | 6 | 0 | 455 | $43.68 | $21.84 |
| Analog TVs, >40" | 156 | 0 | 0 | 312 | $29.95 | $14.98 |
| Digital TVs, ED/HD TC, <40" | 150 | 6 | 0 | 301 | $28.90 | $14.45 |
| Analog TVs, <40" | 86 | 12 | 0 | 184 | $17.66 | $8.83 |
| Desktop PCs | 75 | 4 | 2 | 237 | $22.75 | $11.38 |
| Set-top boxes | 20 | 0 | 20 | 178 | $17.09 | $8.54 |
| Stereo systems | 33 | 30 | 3 | 119 | $11.42 | $5.71 |
| Desktop monitors | 84 | 2 | 0 | 167 | $8.20 | $4.10 |
| DVD/VCR | 17 | 13 | 3 | 78 | $7.49 | $3.74 |
| Notebook PCs | 25 | 2 | 2 | 72 | $6.91 | $3.46 |
| Video game systems | 36 | 36 | 1 | 41 | $3.94 | $1.97 |
Lighting |
||||||
| Torchiere lamp-halogen | 300 | 0 | 0 | 440 | $42.05 | $21.02 |
| 100-W incandescent lamp | 100 | 0 | 0 | 70 | $6.45 | $3.22 |
| 60-W incandescent lamp | 60 | 0 | 0 | 40 | $3.87 | $1.93 |
| 18-W compact fluorescent | 18 | 0 | 0 | 20 | $2.06 | $1.03 |
Miscellaneous |
||||||
| Dehumidifier | 600 | 0 | 0 | 970 | $93.31 | $46.66 |
| Space heater | 1,320 | 1 | 0 | 314 | $30.13 | $15.07 |
| Ceiling fan | 36 | 0 | 0 | 81 | $7.80 | $3.90 |
| Coffee maker | 1,000 | 70 | 0 | 58 | $5.60 | $2.80 |
| Rechargeable power tool | 13 | 4 | 0 | 38 | $3.60 | $1.80 |
| Hair dryer | 710 | 0 | 0 | 40 | $3.40 | $1.70 |
| Lawn sprinkler | 11 | 0 | 0 | 32 | $3.10 | $1.55 |
Totals |
5,083 | 198 | 31 | 4,247 | $399.36 | $199.68 |
Source: U.S. Department of Energy 2011 Buildings Energy Data Book, Section 2.1.16
Did you know that many of your electronic devices are still using electricity even when you're not actively using them? This phenomenon, known as 'vampire power' or 'standby power,' can account for up to 20% of your monthly electricity bill. Devices with a standby light, clock or that respond to a remote control are all common examples of energy vampires. So, when you put your computer in sleep mode, turn off your TV or leave your phone charger plugged in when not using it, they’re still actively drawing small amounts of power.
While the amount of energy used while devices are idle is generally small, the constant drain can add up quickly. By taking small steps and changing your energy habits, you can reduce the impacts of vampire energy on your monthly usage:
To better understand your energy usage, you can calculate the consumption of your individual appliances or devices. The basic formula is to multiply the wattage of a device by the number of hours you use it. This will give you watt-hours, and from there you can convert to kilowatt-hours (kWh), which is how your energy usage is measured. By adding together the estimated watt-hours of your appliances and devices, you can get an idea of how much energy you’re using over a given period.
For many homes, this can be done automatically by your electricity provider and may be presented in daily, weekly, monthly or yearly insights. For instance, Reliant offers a variety of energy management tools to help stay in control of your usage. Your online account manager provides a detailed breakdown of your daily and monthly usage, allowing you to see how your habits impact your electricity bill. You can sign up for our Weekly Summary Email to get your weekly usage insights delivered to your inbox, or receive alerts through Reliant text messages if your home shows unusually high usage. By utilizing these tools, you can stay on top of your energy consumption and make informed decisions to better manage your usage.
In today's connected world, smart home technology offers powerful and convenient ways to manage and reduce your household's energy usage. By automating and remotely controlling various devices, you can help create an impact on your monthly electricity bill.
Here are some of the key smart home devices that can help you save on your energy bill:
By integrating smart devices into your home, you can create a more energy-efficient and convenient living space.
Your Reliant electricity bill shows total kilowatt-hours (kWh) used. You can also log in to your Reliant online account manager for a detailed breakdown of daily and hourly usage to see how your habits impact your usage.
Your HVAC system is typically the biggest energy consumer, followed by your water heater and refrigerator. These appliances work hard to heat, cool and run 24/7.
For more information on how much electricity your household appliances use, check out our electricity consumption comparison page.
It’s best to fully unplug electronics and appliances when they're not being used. For convenience, you can plug multiple devices into a single power strip and turn it off to cut power to everything at once, stopping standby drain.
For safety and efficiency, it’s recommended to set your water heater to 120°F. This prevents scalding and saves energy that would be wasted on overheating water.
You can save energy use by only running your dishwasher and washing machine with a full load. You can also cook smarter by using smaller appliances like a microwave for small meals and taking shorter showers to cut down on hot water heating.
You can log into your Reliant online account manager to see usage history and trends. You can also use smart thermostats and smart plugs that help automate savings by optimizing your HVAC and cutting power to devices that aren't in use.
Sources:
Natural Resources Defense Council, Home Idle Load: Devices Wasting Huge Amounts of Electricity When Not in Active use - Issue Paper (PDF)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Standby Power Summary Table
U.S. Department of Energy, Warding Off Energy Vampires and Phantom Loads
