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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 869
Likes: 4
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RODALCO Offline OP
Member
In other threads you read often about big houses and high kVA capacity installed but never anything about the true power usage hence this thread.

Ok our case. Family 2 adults, 2 children under 9.
We use 12000 kWh per year.
All electric household with 3 kW 40 gallon hotwater cylinder.
4 x 2.2kW electric plug in heaters over the two cold months. These may run only for a few hours because our place is well insulated.
9.1 kW electric range
2.4 kW dryer
2.4 kW dishwasher
2 fridges < 1 kW each
The usuall kitchen stuff like a wok, toaster, frying pan, coffe machine, mixer etc etc.
Then heaps of the usuall equipments like 4 VCR's, 5 TV's, 2 computers, 2 stereos, etc.
Lights: 5 high efficiency CFL lamps 4 double fluorescent lamps and about 25 normal filament lamps rated between 40 and 100 Watts.

This is all fed from a single phase supply rated at 63 Amps at 230 Volts 50 Hz rewirable pole fuse.
You have to load it up to about 100 Amps for a while to blow those anyway.

I have check meters in my place and over the 15 years we are in our house never exceeded 12.5 kW over a 15 minute interval which equates at around 54 Ampères continuous.

I'm Interested to see yearly usuages in the USA and other countries so please post your data.
Thanks

Raymond


The product of rotation, excitation and flux produces electricty.
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 7,520
P
Member
Good question! I don't think I've ever actually sat down and looked at the number of kilowatt-hours I'm using oer year.

I'm all-electric:

* Range with usual 4 hobs, grill, & oven. Usual kitchen appliances of toaster, kettle, microwave oven, etc.

* Storage heaters, charged on night rate, about 10kW total load although I rarely have them all turned on. (I turned a couple on about two weeks ago and that was the first time since April.)

* 3kW immersion heater, on timeswitch to run for about 1-1/2 hours on night rate early each morning. That usually lasts the day, unless I need to give it a half-hour boost for an evening bath.

* 7.5kW instant shower. Only runs for the duration, of course.

* Washing machine, 3kW heating element, typical heating cycle is about 15 minutes, used on average once or twice per week.

* One fridge-freezer, occasional use of 1kW radiant heater in bathroom or other portable heaters, plus all the usual TV, computer, radio & hi-fi, lights, etc. Oh, and the 1.21 gigawatts I need for some of my experiments...... (Only kidding! [Linked Image] ).

I can't find bills for before February at the moment, but from 2/17/06 up to today I've used 8027 kW-h (comprised of 3981 units daytime, 4046 units at night rate).

Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,498
T
Member
Wow, that's a lot!
At School we calculated a photovoltaic system for a house that uses 9500 kWh/year and were told that's REALLY much for the Austrian average.

Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 202
W
WFO Offline
Member
Quoting RODALCO:

"Then heaps of the usuall equipments like 4 VCR's, 5 TV's, 2 computers, 2 stereos, etc."

You meter guys do all right down under. Five TV's? [Linked Image]

Our biggest user in Texas is the air conditioning. The "old" houses used to have window units. Then they went to 2 and 3 ton units. Now the trend is to install big 5 ton units and complain about the lights dimming when it cuts on.
Of course, some of these units have 60 Kw or more of heat strips. When one house has two or three units, you can imagine the heating load.

(Momentary rant......Why does a person that cannot exist in the summer if it's warmer than 68 degrees can't exist in the winter if it's not at least 82 degrees?.....end of rant)

Your kwh question has piqued my curiousity. I'll see if I can get our IT guy to run some averages.

Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 827
Likes: 1
J
Member
I got curious a few years ago so a created a simple Excel spreadsheet. It has columns: "READ DATE", "KWH USED", "DAYS", "KWH/DAY", "BILL TOTAL", and "COMMENTS". The only formula is dividing the 2nd column entry by the 3rd to get my average daily usage. Some of the notes are about previous bills being estimated, use of A/C and swapping 6, 13W CFs for 60W incandescent bulbs in the kitchen. I could see a difference from the CFs. I also noticed the increased consumption from firing up the humidifier. That's when I switched to using 2 decorative fountains and one I built for my little girl, and plants to add moisture. Now, I tend to use 8 to 10 KWH per day until A/C season, when I get into the mid to upper 20s. My highest average was 39.61 KWH/DAY but I have a comment that the previous bill was estimated. I think everyone should do something like this because it is easy to just open up the spreadsheet and enter the numbers on the day you get your bill.
Joe

Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 582
R
Ron Offline
Member
Below is a copy paste from my utility website relative to my home account.
I live in a relative new larger home (2001), well insulated.
The columns are a little hard to follow, but the first is billing Period, KWH, Cost for kWH, natural gas Use (CCF) and Cost for CCF
For example for the period beginning 8/24/06 and ending 9/25/06 we used 793kWH of electricity and paid $141.35. We used 31 CCF of natural gas and paid $52.73

8/24/2006 9/25/2006 793 $141.35 31 $52.73
7/24/2006 8/24/2006 1,317 $226.80 21 $38.82
6/26/2006 7/24/2006 1,247 $217.87 23 $42.13
5/24/2006 6/26/2006 967 $125.51 29 $54.57
4/25/2006 5/24/2006 625 $81.38 62 $104.09
3/27/2006 4/25/2006 593 $72.23 109 $185.64
2/24/2006 3/27/2006 636 $86.67 253 $373.78
1/26/2006 2/24/2006 635 $88.98 255 $419.24
12/27/2005 1/26/2006 745 $115.60 247 $434.69
11/23/2005 12/27/2005 955 $139.79 306 $510.48
10/25/2005 11/23/2005 647 $119.60 152 $282.14
9/23/2005 10/25/2005 697 $130.59 63 $121.38
8/24/2005 9/23/2005 1,017 $171.38 22 $41.17
7/25/2005 8/24/2005 1,451 $254.81 20 $35.48
6/23/2005 7/25/2005 1,354 $190.53 23 $38.42
5/24/2005 6/23/2005 1,003 $132.39 36 $49.79
4/25/2005 5/24/2005 556 $78.33 83 $113.50
3/24/2005 4/25/2005 599 $76.34 147 $202.07
2/24/2005 3/24/2005 540 $69.82 269 $327.83
1/26/2005 2/24/2005 604 $82.06 294 $378.34
12/22/2004 1/26/2005 910 $113.57 371 $474.12
11/22/2004 12/22/2004 709 $83.99 240 $308.60
10/21/2004 11/22/2004 661 $83.66 170 $214.10


Ron
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 456
C
Member
I'm a power sucker I guess.

Around 30-35 KWH/day. Although some days in the summer got down to the low 20s (I was reading the meter every day, and plugging that into a spreadsheet).

We have a 100A 120/240V service, electric range, dryer (winter/inclement weather only, clothesline in the good summer), and hot water, no A/C, no furnace (heating circulation is limited to a 10W fan behind the woodstove and a ceiling fan). And the usual tools/equipment used on a far, including 2HP of hay conveyors (one has a 1.5 HP motor, the other 1/2 HP). The winter sees a 1.5 KW or 750W tractor coolant heater used (depending on tractor). Our well/shop is on another service.

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 558
R
Member
Well, I just figured out what my parents place uses per day average for the last billing period... Try 50 KwH / Day! BUT a note as well this was an "Estimate" or so it says on the bill for the past 2 months, ending oct 31.
Figures though in this house, there is 2 referigerators, one upright freezer, 4 TV's, Dishwasher with a 1500W booster heater and a natural gas compressor that has a 1 hp motor.
Summer "extras" are the 1 HP pool circ pump and a somewhat newer 2-ton A/C. Winter "extras" are the 4800W heater in the shed to keep it just above freezing and MAYBE the 500W block heaters (3) for the vehicles on the cold nights.
Lighting around here is mostly 15 and 23W compact fluorescents and the kitchen, utility room and shed are all 4' T-8 fixtures with electronic ballasts.
Outdoor lighting is 6-35W HPS HPF potlights, one 70W HPS HPF Flood and a 50W HPS HPF post light, and 90% of the time the flood is the only light used.

The stove, dryer and water heater are all gas.

A.D

Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,923
Likes: 32
G
Member
I am cruising in the 16-18mwh/yr range.
That is all electric appliances with a well, pool and spa so that is really my only bill besides the cable and phone. I pay a about half as much for TV/broadband as I do electricity.


Greg Fretwell
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 111
E
Member
Don't forget that TV's use power even when they are off. Same goes for adapters for cell phones even with the phone disconnected. Not alot of power but when you have two kids, many TV's, adapters for toys, X-box.....
I try to unplug whatever is not being used as much as possible!

Sorry, did someone mention that already?

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