How much energy and money do we spend for the appliances in our home?

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Although we have a general idea of which household appliances consume the most, perhaps we are not 100% safe what kind of appliances pollute the most or if we are abusing electrical appliances that require a lot of energy for their operation.

We begin by remembering that there are three types of consumption. It may seem silly, but a lot of them are consuming power, even without turning on. A printer or computer can consume up to 1600 watts / day if it is old equipment and is used for many hours.

How to calculate total expenditure in kilowatts and in euros

Perform a calculation on these gadgets It is always approximate, since it will depend on the type of brand and model (the old ones usually spend more than the new ones) and the contracted electricity company. The study we are talking about takes into account the price per kilowatt hour (kWh) of the electricity company that supplies more homes in Spain as of December 2015. It also accounts for 21% of VAT.

The kitchen, a space where we spend a lot of energy

Especially for those who cook for many and often, the kitchen is one of the places in the house where we spend the most and this trend is increasing as they go out. new gadgets. Sandwich makers, pots, coffee makers, electric juicers, even electric knives! All kinds of devices that have gradually replaced tasks that a few years ago we performed manually.

In the kitchen, what you spend the most per hour are electric stoves and the oven. The vitroceramics, increasingly present in more homes, spend a little less, but still remain at the top of the list. To give you an idea, using the electric stoves (all four of them) for one hour, we would be spending 4,500 Wh and we would pay, according to the factors explained, almost one euro (€ 0.75) for that use. In the long run, it means a lot of energy and a lot of money. You can reduce this consumption by doing things like:

• Take advantage of residual heat. For example, turn off the heat or oven ten minutes before the food is ready. It will continue to cook.
• Avoid using it for little things. For example, boil water to cook an egg. Take the opportunity to cook many and store them in the fridge for future occasions.
• Cook for several days in one sitting, to save energy and time.

Appliances like the deep fryer are quite expensive. For every hour you use it, you will be spending 1000 Wh (0.17 euros).

The hand mixers they use about half the energy of glass (250 Wh versus 140 Wh). You can also sometimes do without devices such as the electric can opener (60Wh), the electric juicer (250Wh) or the sandwich maker (800Wh). Although the cycle of a rice cooker does not last an hour, the minutes in which it works, is spending more than similar appliances, up to 1000Wh. An hour of microwave consumes us about 2000 Wh (depending on the model), for which we pay 0.33 euros. The refrigerators and refrigerators, always connected, end up resulting in a vertiginous increase of the bill. A refrigerator from 1990 consumes 1020 watts per hour (that is, 68.63 euros per year), while one from 2008 drops to 110 Wh, (13.25 euros per year). A remarkable difference.

Each cycle of a dishwasher normal without organic brand would be consuming approximately 1050Wh and we would pay 0.18 euros for it. Sometimes the dishwasher is more environmentally friendly than washing dishes by hand because, with the latter option, we are consuming too much hot water.

The bathroom, many appliances for grooming and beauty

Although to a lesser extent, also in the bath We have many appliances that consume, not counting the bathtub, since filling it we are spending a lot of hot water (and water). A water heater consumes about 1500 Wh per hour.

An old model of dryer It can consume up to 1875 Wh (0.31 euros for an hour of styling), while an ecological and more modern one consumes much less (522.5 Wh), so if it is an element that we use daily and for a long time, we should invest in an ecological and more efficient model and thus achieve significant savings in the long run. The same happens with hair straighteners or curlers, which use between 550 and 800 Wh. Some of the devices that consume the least are razors (15 Wh are the oldest). If we have a Jacuzzi, we are spending 550 Wh per hour.

Bet on LED or ecological bulbs

Considering that in a house of two bedrooms There can be up to 6 ceiling bulbs (not counting those of the floor lamps, lamps or auxiliary), it is very important to invest in efficient bulbs. In addition, we usually use them for several hours each day. While a 100-watt filament bulb consumes us 101 Wh per hour (we are spending 0.02 euros each hour that it is turned on), the amount for one ecological it is reduced to 11 Wh. If we went on vacation for a month and forgot to turn off a filament bulb, we would be spending 12.16 euros, at best.

General purpose appliances, watch out for them

In the list of gadgets that we use for the home (doing the laundry or cleaning the house) there are three that consume a lot of energy: the washing machine, the vacuum cleaner and the iron.

The vacuum cleaner is another of the household appliances in which there is a lot of difference between an ecological model and an old one. A mark generic It consumes 1,300 Wh, so if we used it for an hour, we would be increasing our electricity bill by 0.22 euros, which in the long run is a considerable sum. In some cases, the sweeping brush may be more than sufficient for daily cleaning or a quick pass. It is not always necessary to use vacuum cleaners.

A one hour cycle of a washing machine It consumes 1020 Wh (0.17 euros), so it is recommended to cycle charged and not use it if it is not necessary. Household steam irons, on the other hand, consume 1070 Wh (0.18 euros) in an hour and dryers take first place with 2000 Wh (0.33 euros). Imagine the money you could save after the years if you hang the clothes instead of machine drying them! A normal laundry, including washing, drying and ironing, is costing us more than one euro. If we get used to washing 2 times a week instead of 3, in the end we will save a lot of energy and our electricity bill will appreciate it.

Technological gadgets

Today, it is easy to take into home appliances with the latest technology, from stereo, to printers and computers. It is advisable to unplug the printer and use it only when we need it, since only having it plugged in, we consume 0.9 Wh every sixty minutes. The same happens with the computer. Every hour we use it is costing the planet 100 Wh of monitor and 70 Wh of tower, not counting peripherals. The use of the computer per year costs us more than 400 euros.

The ADSL router that all houses usually have consumes the same if it is turned off and plugged in as in full operation. Although it does not consume that much (10.12 Wh), a year of router will be costing us 14.83 euros. Something similar happens with the landline, Always connected. Even if not a single person calls you in a year, you would be paying 36.62 euros because it consumes 25 watts per hour. Ask yourself if you still need to have it installed or no one calls you on the landline anymore.

Plasma televisions also spend a lot (464 Wh) or, in other words, having it on for a month would make us have to pay 55.87 euros. A video game console of the old ones (which in stand-by mode also consumes) spends 23 Wh, but the new and more modern ones (PS3, Xbox 360) reach 194 Wh and 185 Wh respectively (about 24 euros for a month of gameplay) .

If you like to listen to music, use a small cassette player (it uses 1.4 Wh) instead of turning on the computer, which is consuming a lot more. Even a modern laptop charging it already consumes 40 Wh (58.6 euros per year).

Devices for regulating temperature

When we are at home, we want to achieve thermal comfort that we require, that's why we use heating in winter and air conditioning or cooling systems in summer, although we can continue to do so efficiently.

Speaking only of the electric heaters (which consume a lot) we are talking about a quantity of 1300 Wh per hour. During a cold winter, we can get to use them for many hours (they would cost us 156.53 euros per month), so it is very convenient to look for other alternatives. Starting by insulating the house well (what use is this waste if cold air is entering through a window?), Using good warm clothes, items such as blankets and more efficient heating systems.

The air conditioning is another of the errors of the electric bill. It can consume 1800 Wh (216.74 for a whole month of operation). Although it is a system that we use only for a month or two a year, there are many ways not to abuse it, since they are not healthy, their high energy consumption is very bad for the planet and will make us depend on them, on so that other cooling systems are not enough for us. Although they are not as effective in fighting the heat, the fans consume much less (35.1 Wh), or 4.23 euros for a month of use. Try combining these two systems or use the fan more when the temperature is not that high.

Conclusions.

Various companies and associations ecological, concerned that the abusive use made in Europe by certain home appliances, have calculated with high precision how many watts they need to run most of the appliances we use every day. Also, they have estimated the approximate price that we can end up paying on the invoice. Knowing these data, you will learn to be more eco-responsible and to save large amounts on your electricity bill.

Consumption in stand-by mode, which also spends, is when the appliance turns off by itself, but is still connected to the power and working. It usually happens in the case of televisions, which show a red light to indicate that they are suspended, although they are still connected to the socket.

As is logical, the consumption of the device when it is turned on will be higher.

There are gadgets that use a lot (for example, air conditioning), but are used only at specific times of the year, usually between the months of June and September. Others, like the toaster or the dryer, we use them in very specific moments or even some, like the dishwasher or the washing machine, in some homes they are not used daily. These variables must be taken into account. What usually rises our bill They are those devices that are always connected (refrigerator), that is why it is especially important that we choose them with a certified ecological label. It is also important to be careful with the rest, even if we do not always use them, to save energy.

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