Energy-Hungry Devices: 5 Appliances That Consume the Most Energy at Home
Not all of your home’s appliances have the same functions. Utilizing each of them can have a significant impact on your monthly energy bills. It’s also essential to keep your home energy efficient to help prevent high electric bills. Hence, it’s necessary to know which of these devices use the most power in your home.
Home appliances can aid in your everyday household chores. However, when their temperature rises, your energy bills can be at their highest level since producing heat would take a lot of energy. While they can consume a considerable amount of power, some of these appliances may also consume more than the rest of them.
Making your home more energy efficient will help control your power usage more effectively. But aside from that, you also first need to understand which of them consume the most electricity in your house. As such, take a look at these five of the most energy-hungry appliances in your home.
Heating System
The use of a heating system is necessary to help regulate and maintain the level of temperature in your home. However, it’s also one of the appliances that consume the most energy in your home. It uses about 27 percent of your home’s electricity.
The kWh range for running a heating device in your home can be broad. It can consume about 100 kWh up to 3,500 kWh per month. Your heating system would also increase especially during the winter. Moreover, its range would depend on the type of heating system you use and how efficient it operates as well.
On the other hand, you can utilize a programmable thermostat to help reduce your heating bills more effectively. It’s also a great way to upgrade into a more efficient heating unit and save money on your heat-related power use. The high-quality heating appliance can operate up to 97 percent efficiency compared to the other models.
It’s also essential to have the best deal with your energy provider. You may switch to a reliable energy company like Astral Energy that can provide clean and suitable power for your home. In that way, you can lower your kWh and get more savings on your monthly heating bills.
Cooling System
The air conditioning unit in your home uses high-watt machines for an extended time. Apart from controlling the temperature in your area, it can also account for one of the biggest energy users in your home. Hence, utilizing your cooling system can significantly affect your monthly energy bills especially during the summer.
The number of watts consumed in your cooling system depends on the operating time, the capacity, the type of unit and it’s efficiency rating. Your air conditioning unit can use about 200 to 1,800 kWh per month.
You can take simple steps to help improve the efficiency of your cooling system. Since the insulation and coolant charge are vital to keeping your device working efficiently, you can have a pro check for your unit every year. Apart from that, make sure also to close the vents in your area that you hardly ever use.
You can also upgrade to a timed thermostat and turn off your cooling system automatically when the temperature from the outside gets cooler. Make sure that you also have at least 16 inches or 41 centimeters of insulation in your attic. It can help keep more of the sun’s heat out of your area so that your unit doesn’t have to work as hard.
Water Heater
Water heating can account for about 12 percent of your home’s energy use. As a homeowner, you can use a water heater to clean your clothes, wash the dishes, shower, and other home applications. Hence, it can be an essential part of your daily routine.
Water heating is a power-intensive household appliance because it consumes about 400 kWh per month. However, the amount of energy you can spend on it may depend on a lot of factors. These include the type of water heaters such as tankless, solar, or standard water heater and its size as well.
Other factors include the temperature settings, washing your clothes either in cold or hot water and how long you shower in a day. On the other hand, you can also take simple ways to conserve energy to help your water heater perform more efficient and save power on your energy bills.
You can also reduce the electricity used in your water heater by checking its temperature. You don’t need it to be hotter than 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Instead, you can drop its temperature up to twenty degrees and get the same heating efficiency while consuming less energy.
Dehumidifier
Utilizing dehumidifier is necessary to keep your home’s humidity levels in check from time to time. It’s an ideal appliance that can remove moisture from the air. The use of the product can also help prevent the growth of mildew by extracting the water from the air in your space. It can help eliminate odor and help make your area more comfortable.
If you live in a humid, wet area, you can leave dehumidifiers to run all the time. It’s a high-wattage household appliance that can consume a vast amount of power. The product comes at 60 to 1,000 watts depending on its capacity. Hence, it may consume about 160 kWh per month depending on how long it runs.
Moreover, you can also ensure that your dehumidifier is not wasting energy. You need to close off the room where it’s working. You can also set the humidistat at a reasonable number that can remove moisture more effectively. Instead of a dial, you can go for an upgrade and get a digital humidistat for greater precision.
Refrigerator or Freezer
Your fridge or freezer is necessary to keep your food and other perishable goods safe and intact. It’s also one of the top-consuming appliances in your home since it’s running on electricity all the time. It can account for a range of 30-200 kWh per month.
There are a lot of factors to consider a high-efficiency unit. These include the model size, freezer or fridge orientation, device placement, temperature settings, refrigeration habits and the energy-saving mode available.
On the other hand, there are also steps you can take to reduce the energy that your fridge or freezer can use. Some of these are checking for its power saver switch, thermostat, and seals. You also need to defrost your unit and don’t forget to use good refrigeration habits to help conserve energy effectively.
Takeaway
Utilizing home appliances can aid in your household chores. However, household tools such as those mentioned above can be power-intensive and affect your monthly energy bills. Hence, making your home more energy efficient is ideal energy conservation at home to help save money by lowering your monthly energy bills.