Understand Your Energy Use
Your home is a system running many different appliances to keep things comfortable and running smoothly. These appliances may be necessary for your home, and they all require energy.
Learn about the big energy consumers in your home, so you can find ways to save energy and lower your bill. You can also explore a specific appliance for more details.
Note: Estimated energy use is based on average operating conditions and costs of $0.14 per kWh and $1.00 per therm.
1 Heating and Cooling
Air Conditioner
$23 – 137
per month
Energy-saving idea: The SmartAC™ program helps prevent summer power interruptions by reducing the amount of energy your AC uses.
| Gas central heating | $1.07 per hour |
| Electric central heating | $1.37 per hour |
| Gas water heater | $10 – 33 per month |
| Electric water heater | $18 – 54 per month |
| Portable heater | $0.21 per hour /unit |
| Ceiling fan | $1.21 – $6.80 per year |
2 Laundry
Electric Clothes Dryer
$0.33 – 0.56
per load
Energy-saving idea:When you use your dryer, run full loads, use the moisture-sensing setting, and clean the lint trap after each use.
| Gas clothes dryer | $0.12 – 0.15 per load |
| Washing Machine (cold water) | $0.04 per load |
| Washing Machine (warm/cold) | $0.34 per load |
| Washing Machine (hot/warm) | $0.88 per load |
| Front-loading washing machine | $0.027 per load |
| Steam iron | $0.15 per load |
3 Lighting
Compact Fluorescent (27W)
< $0.01
per hour
Energy-saving idea: Use compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) wherever possible. Converting to energy-efficient low-wattage (27W fluorescent = 100W incandescent) CFL can lower your lighting bill.
| Halogen lighting (45W) | $<0.01 per hour |
| Halogen lighting (90W) | $0.01 per hour |
| Halogen mirrored reflector (MR) lamp | $<0.01 per hour |
| Incandescent | $<0.01 per hour |
4 Kitchen
Refrigerator (1992 to current)
$8.69 – 9.84
per month
Energy-saving idea: Replace and recycle your old refrigerator and purchase a new ENERGY STAR® labeled model.
| Refrigerator (Prior to 1992) | $18.54 per month |
| Electric dishwasher | $ 0.39 – 43 per load |
| Gas dishwasher | $0.15 – 0.20 per load |
| Electric Oven | $0.32 per hour |
| Gas Oven | $0.21 per hour |
| Microwave Oven | $0.02 per minute |
5 Living room
LCD or Plasma TV
$.02 – $.06
per hour
Energy-saving idea: Replace old windows with new high performance dual pane windows. Weatherstrip around windows and doors.
| Video game consoles | $<0.01 per hour |
| Cable box | $<0.01 per hour |
| DVD player | $<0.01 per hour |
| Stereo system | $<0.01 per hour |
| Cable box – standby mode | $19.98 per year |
| DVD player – standby mode | $3.71 per month |
6 Bathroom
Hair Dryer
$0.02
per use
Energy-saving idea: Install energy-saver showerheads. This will reduce your water bills, and your energy bills due to less water heater use.
| Water softener/conditioner | $0.50 per month |
| Night light | $.020 per month |
Next Steps
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Understand your electric charges
Learn about your electric and gas rates, based on average baselines and cost tiers.
Learn more
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See your energy use
View your energy use data online by month, by day, and by the hour.
Sign up | Log in
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Energy Alerts
Get notifed by email, text message or phone when your electric use is moving toward a higher-cost tier.
Learn more
