How much can overuse of household appliances affect energy bills?

Question

In our house of three roomates, on average, bigger appliaces like the washer and dryer are used onced a day, the dishwasher is run once a day, and the garge door is operated probably 5 times a day. Should this have that much affect on the energy bills each month, or do they consume inconsiderate amounts of energy per use? These items are only about a year old, so they are all top of the line.

Also, I heard that if you leave things plugged in, such as cell phone chargers, laptop adapters, etc.. this uses energy too without the devices being charged at the time! Is this true?

Answer 1

Your biggest non-transportation energy users, by far and in approximate order, are

Heating / Cooling

Water heater

Refrigerator / Freezer

Dehumidifier (if you have one)

These probably represent 50% to 80% of your bill, and because they are all a function of temperature, it will be difficult to determine exactly how much they use.  Just schedule your heating and cooling as much as possible, insulate your home / windows / doors as much as you can, turn the bathroom / kitchen exhaust fan when you're done with them, turn down the temp on your water heater as much as possible, and don't leave the 'fridge door hanging open.

That's the biggest chunk of energy savings you can get, right there.

Now, if you've done all that and you still want to save some energy and money, start looking at unplugging the "phantom" loads you mentioned, and swap out your lightbulbs.   Don't get me wrong - I use CFL's everywhere.  But I know that they are really only a drop in my energy bucket.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Most electric utilities have on-line energy use calculators. I've linked one below but you might also go to your own utility's website and find one.

Answer 3

Compared to the amount of energy used to heat/cool your home or run your car/truck, appliances use diddley-squat. It's false economy to install CFL bulbs that will reduce your electric bill by pennies, then hop in your SUV and drive 75 mph down the freeway. If you want to save dollars instead of dimes, look to reduce your biggest users of energy first.