Human beings are in the process of shifting paradigms from the days where progress
was king and internet project management was all about how to make things bigger
and better, to a life of balance and energy conservation that will preserve the
only home we have. While most people won't say no to having a planet still
capable of supporting human life when their grandchildren grow up, they have very
little idea of how they are hurting that possible future with their electricity
consumption. To get an idea of what sort of mark your carbon footprint will be
leaving behind for future generations, this article will help you figure out how
much energy your household uses.
The easiest way to find this out, obviously, is to buy an energy monitor. They
come in a variety of different types and functions. Some give you readings on
individual appliances and are plugged into a single socket, while others monitor
power usage for the entire household. While each building and all Mississauga
detached homes already have a power meter that allows the electricity company
to charge you for your usage, energy monitors help by displaying usage not just
in terms of kilowatt hours but in terms of money spent, which means they can
be very useful if you're trying to save money.
Energy monitors are also helpful if you live in Toronto waterfront condominiums or an apartment, where the meter monitors the entire building instead of each
unit. In this case, an energy monitor can tell you what your individual household
is using. If you don't receive an individual electricity bill, this may
be your only way of finding out your usage numbers. Otherwise, you can just
take your electricity bill and see the number of kilowatt hours you have been
charged for during the billing period.
Energy monitors and electric bills don't give the same visceral sense
of knowing exactly where power is being wasted, however, since most can only
show you the usage data for the entire house, unless you buy the very expensive
models. In order to find out how much you're using on each appliance,
you'll need to dust off your elementary math skills. It's more in-depth,
but once you see how much power the kitchen light you left on has wasted, and
multiply it in your mind by the number of Arlington, Texas condominiums on your
block who leave the kitchen light on, you might be shocked.
To calculate the energy usage for your house, keep a notebook of how long each
appliance was used during a week. Don't leave anything out. List every
light, each television, computer, coffee maker, and electric razor, as well
as the large appliances like the refrigerator, washer or dryer. Especially don't
forget anything that runs continuously. Each appliance has a wattage listed
on the power cord. Simply multiply that number by the number of hours, and you
have the number of kilowatt hours that appliance has used. Now think about how
much you would save if you turned off the computer after emailing that Milton real estate agent, or turned off the light when you were finished in the bathroom.
Humbled yet? A special thank you to Uptown Yonge (family and emergency dental clinic Toronto) for their ongoing support!
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