How do I calculate usage and cost of an appliance?
A load check can be performed to determine the amount of energy any given appliance uses while it’s on and identify reasons your bill may have increased. While usage data available in My Account is captured by the Smart Meter from the previous day, you can retrieve real time usage information for specific appliances by following the steps below.
Understanding Your Smart Meter
The smart connect meter has a rectangular digital display that flashes on and off every 5-6 seconds. It cycles through a few different screens or channels. Each screen appears for about 5 seconds. The channel identifier appears on the top left corner of the digital display. Its font size is noticeably smaller than the information displayed in the middle of the screen.
Real time usage in kilowatt-hours (kWh) will be displayed on Channel 082. 1 kWh = 1,000 watts of electricity used during one hour. This measurement of energy usage fluctuates as appliances turn on and off. A load check could be performed alone, but having a second person who can turn household appliances on/off while the other monitors and notes the energy fluctuation at the meter would be helpful.
How to Perform a Load Check:
- Locate your Smart Meter panel and change screen to channel 082. The number displayed indicates how much energy is being used by appliances currently in use.
- Number will follow decimal format 000.00
- E.g., 000.35 = 350 watts
2. Turn the appliance you’d like to measure on or off.
3. Return to Smart Meter to view second read on channel 082. An increased measurement is to be expected when appliances are turned on.
4. Calculate the difference between the first and second read on channel 082. This total provides the electrical capacity of the specific appliance that was turned on/off.
Examples:
A. Customer turns off all appliances, except for refrigerator, before performing load check. The initial read on channel 082 is 000.35, which indicates the refrigerator uses 350 watts of electricity.
The customer would like to measure how much electricity the pool pump is using. After turning on the pool pump, the second read on channel 0082 increases to 001.55 (1550 watts).
The customer calculates the difference between the first and second read, which is 001.2. This indicates that the pool pump uses 1200 watts of electricity.
B. Customer begins load check by viewing the initial read on channel 082. The value displayed is 004.50 (4500 watts).
She decides to measure appliance usage by turning off one sub breaker at a time. After turning off the sub breaker to the garage, she notices the number displayed on channel 082 significantly decreases to 000.50 (500 watts).
Calculating the difference between the two reads, the customer identifies her new washer and dryer as the source of a recent increase in usage.
Keep in mind, appliances may be plugged in but are not actively on while conducting the load check. For example, a refrigerator cycle activates when it needs to decrease the temperature in the ice box. A way to encourage the refrigerator motor to activate is to decrease the temperature at the thermostat just for the load check or crack open the door until the motor and condenser are activated.
Calculating Appliance Cost
Once the electrical capacity of an appliance is determined by a load check, you can calculate the appliance cost for your 30-day bill cycle.
Example 1:
Customer locates appliance label on their TV, informing the wattage is 700watts. If the customer estimates their TV is active for 8 hours each day, the total energy usage is 5.6kwh per day.
- Kilowatt-hour (kwh) Conversion = Appliance Wattage / 1000
- 700watts / 1000 = 0.7kwh
- Daily Usage = Kwh x Daily Usage Hours
- 0.7kwh x 8 hours = 5.6kwh
- Monthly Usage = Daily kwh x 30
- 5.6kwh x 30 days = 168kwh
Depending on your rate, Monthly Cost can range from:
DOM Tier-1 winter $0.29 x 168kwh = $48.72 extra on your bill
TOUD-5-8 off peak winter $0.26 x 168kwh = $43.68 extra on your bill
TOUD-PRIME winter $0.22 x 168kwh = $36.96 extra on your bill
Example 2
Customer determines air conditioner uses 4kwh per hour. If the customer runs their air conditioner an average of 8 hours each day, the total would be 32kwh per day.
- Daily Cost = Average Cost x Daily Usage
- $0.37 x 32 = $11.84
- Monthly Cost = $11.84 x 30 days
- Average cost of $355 per month
Looking for more ways to save?
Our Home Energy Guide offers information on your home energy usage, ways to conserve and more. Get tips for simple changes to maximize savings in your home.
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