Meter Readings, Observations and Usage Notes for the Period of 3/2-3/11
1. Obtain a copy of your electricity bill. Calculate the average daily cost for electricity in your house.
$6.57
2. After calculating the daily electricity usage (in Table 1), average out the cost per kWh. If it is indicated on your electricity bill, how does your estimate compare?
My estimate is much lower than what the real number is. I assumed that we spent about 4 cents per kWh per day; however, we spend about 13 cents per kWh per day. Using our average usage per day, this adds up to about $6.57 cost per day for electricity to add up to a monthly bill of about $197.00
$6.57
2. After calculating the daily electricity usage (in Table 1), average out the cost per kWh. If it is indicated on your electricity bill, how does your estimate compare?
My estimate is much lower than what the real number is. I assumed that we spent about 4 cents per kWh per day; however, we spend about 13 cents per kWh per day. Using our average usage per day, this adds up to about $6.57 cost per day for electricity to add up to a monthly bill of about $197.00
Cost of Electricity
Carbon Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide Emissions, by Source, for generating electricity
1. Compare a utility bill from a summer month with one for March or April. Estimate what amount of the summertime bill is due to air-conditioner use.
The March 9, 2013 utility electricity used was 20109 kWh, which is a pretty different figure than the 25888 utility bill of July 9, 2012. This shows that
there was about a 77.676% increase in the use of electricity. Knowing how hot it can get during the summer in North Carolina, I think that most of the extra energy used is from air conditioning. Also, I think that since I'm comparing it to a point in time that is in spring it looks even more drastic than it would have looking at a winter bill. I think this because in the winter we use a lot of energy for heat and in the summer we do the same for air conditioning; however, in those middle spring-like months, there is no need for either heat nor air conditioning because the weather is usually fairly comfortable.
2. Inspect and report on the following for your home:
a. The amount, location and quality (type and R-value) of insulation – The insulation is installed throughout the entire house. It is primarily found in the attics, and lining the walls inside the house. The insulation is fiberglass, and has an R-value of 3.2.
b. The amount of shade provided by trees or shrubs – The backyard has a tall pine trees that provide a good amount of shade to parts of the backyard and part of the front yard, but no real shade over the actual house itself.
c. The condition, composition, and color of the roof – My house was built not too long ago so the roof is new and is in good condition. It is composed of black shingles.
d. The air circulation in the attic – The attic feels very drafty with air being able to easily enter the attic and circulate around the room. The attic usually takes on the same exact temperature that it is outside.
e.The tightness of the fit for doors and windows – The doors appear to fit very snugly with the addition of the draft protectors attached to the windows and doors to prevent the flow of air from outside to inside.
f. The color of outer walls (does it absorb or reflect heat?) – The outer walls of my house are a combination of brick and stone. Bricks absorb heat. I know this because after a hot day you can actually touch one of the bricks and feel the heat coming off of it.
g. Any other features that may affect the dwelling’s heat balance - We have heavy curtians and blinds on all of the windows that we sometimes keep drawn. This could affect my dwelling's heat balance because it could prevent sunlight - and, therefore, heat - from coming into the house.
The March 9, 2013 utility electricity used was 20109 kWh, which is a pretty different figure than the 25888 utility bill of July 9, 2012. This shows that
there was about a 77.676% increase in the use of electricity. Knowing how hot it can get during the summer in North Carolina, I think that most of the extra energy used is from air conditioning. Also, I think that since I'm comparing it to a point in time that is in spring it looks even more drastic than it would have looking at a winter bill. I think this because in the winter we use a lot of energy for heat and in the summer we do the same for air conditioning; however, in those middle spring-like months, there is no need for either heat nor air conditioning because the weather is usually fairly comfortable.
2. Inspect and report on the following for your home:
a. The amount, location and quality (type and R-value) of insulation – The insulation is installed throughout the entire house. It is primarily found in the attics, and lining the walls inside the house. The insulation is fiberglass, and has an R-value of 3.2.
b. The amount of shade provided by trees or shrubs – The backyard has a tall pine trees that provide a good amount of shade to parts of the backyard and part of the front yard, but no real shade over the actual house itself.
c. The condition, composition, and color of the roof – My house was built not too long ago so the roof is new and is in good condition. It is composed of black shingles.
d. The air circulation in the attic – The attic feels very drafty with air being able to easily enter the attic and circulate around the room. The attic usually takes on the same exact temperature that it is outside.
e.The tightness of the fit for doors and windows – The doors appear to fit very snugly with the addition of the draft protectors attached to the windows and doors to prevent the flow of air from outside to inside.
f. The color of outer walls (does it absorb or reflect heat?) – The outer walls of my house are a combination of brick and stone. Bricks absorb heat. I know this because after a hot day you can actually touch one of the bricks and feel the heat coming off of it.
g. Any other features that may affect the dwelling’s heat balance - We have heavy curtians and blinds on all of the windows that we sometimes keep drawn. This could affect my dwelling's heat balance because it could prevent sunlight - and, therefore, heat - from coming into the house.
Discussion
I've learned that the electricity that is taken advantage of every day is by no means free. Our household is currently receiving a hefty bill each month
for the energy we use everyday. One of the primary sources of high energy consumption is our appliances. When looking at the energy bill, the
amount of kilowatt hours used increased every time heavy appliances were used. The washer and dryer particularly showed a trend of spiking the amount of kilowatt hours used. I think this could be a significant way to save kilowatt hours and money. After taking a closer look at our washer and dryer, I found that they were not even energy star certified. Unfortunately, energy star appliances can be be very expensive; however, switching our washer and drier to energy star certified appliances could save a significant amount of kilowatt hours each month, which in turn will eventually save enough money to not only pay off the expenses of the new appliances, but continually to lower the electric bill. Switching the light bulbs to florescent lights may also be a viable option to lower the monthly bill. Florescent lights are much more energy efficient; however, they are also more expensive. Only switching the lights that get used the most such as in the family room and the hallways could be smart, economical option. Also, developing habits like turning off lights when they are not in use is another way to conserve electricity.
Finally, a major observation I saw is the astounding effect that air conditioning has on the monthly bill. During the summer months my household used about twice as much kilowatt hours on air conditioning. To cut this cost, it would be very beneficial to purchase many small, low energy using fans. Air conditioning becomes very expensive so using smaller, more efficient fans could be a much better, and cheaper solution. It would also significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and sulfur being released from the energy company to run the air conditioning. Another thing to watch for is making sure the air conditioning gets turned off when everyone leaves the house. Leaving the air conditioning on is very uneconomical and a lot of money could be saved if it would just be turned off.
One source of error we could have encountered throughout this lab was that the kWh were not recorded at the exact same time every single day for the ten day period. This could have caused the calculations of daily kWh use to be inaccurate. If the kWh were recorded at the exact same time every single day, this lab would produce more accurate data.
for the energy we use everyday. One of the primary sources of high energy consumption is our appliances. When looking at the energy bill, the
amount of kilowatt hours used increased every time heavy appliances were used. The washer and dryer particularly showed a trend of spiking the amount of kilowatt hours used. I think this could be a significant way to save kilowatt hours and money. After taking a closer look at our washer and dryer, I found that they were not even energy star certified. Unfortunately, energy star appliances can be be very expensive; however, switching our washer and drier to energy star certified appliances could save a significant amount of kilowatt hours each month, which in turn will eventually save enough money to not only pay off the expenses of the new appliances, but continually to lower the electric bill. Switching the light bulbs to florescent lights may also be a viable option to lower the monthly bill. Florescent lights are much more energy efficient; however, they are also more expensive. Only switching the lights that get used the most such as in the family room and the hallways could be smart, economical option. Also, developing habits like turning off lights when they are not in use is another way to conserve electricity.
Finally, a major observation I saw is the astounding effect that air conditioning has on the monthly bill. During the summer months my household used about twice as much kilowatt hours on air conditioning. To cut this cost, it would be very beneficial to purchase many small, low energy using fans. Air conditioning becomes very expensive so using smaller, more efficient fans could be a much better, and cheaper solution. It would also significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and sulfur being released from the energy company to run the air conditioning. Another thing to watch for is making sure the air conditioning gets turned off when everyone leaves the house. Leaving the air conditioning on is very uneconomical and a lot of money could be saved if it would just be turned off.
One source of error we could have encountered throughout this lab was that the kWh were not recorded at the exact same time every single day for the ten day period. This could have caused the calculations of daily kWh use to be inaccurate. If the kWh were recorded at the exact same time every single day, this lab would produce more accurate data.
Photo of My House
Real-life Connections
This lab adds to the world's knowledge and big picture in an important way. First, each household has its own electricity meter that calculates every kWh used by that household ever since it was built. This lab shows that even the smallest uses of electricity have an impact on the environment. Depending on the energy source of the household, each household releases a certain amount of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide into the environment. These greenhouse gases have negative impacts on our atmosphere. Since each house releases some carbon dioxide and sulfur
dioxide by using electricity, the world has polluted the atmosphere with excessive amounts of greenhouse gases. Knowing how much harmful
substances are released into the atmosphere should cause the world to find ways to reduce the amount of electricity used; however, i couldn't help but wonder if it was even possible for us to even cut our energy. Thus, i went on to read the article "Is Cutting Energy in Homes Possible?" by Greentech Media. Of course the article states that if we just came into our house and threw out our television's and fridge's then, sure, we'd save energy; however, the article points out that "It's unrealistic that Americans will simply consume far less than they currently do (greentech media)." In my opinion, despite the risks and warnings that we now know, it is very unlikely that a good amount of Americans will take huge percautions (or any percautions at all) in respect to saving energy to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. I think that we will only realize the error of our ways when acid rain really begins to rain down on us and damge a lot of structures and when carbon dioxide begins to make our planet toxic uninhabitable; however, by then it'll probably be too late.
"Is Cutting Energy Use in Homes Possible?" Greentech Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/is-cutting- energy-use-in-homes-possible>