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Mr. Electricity is your guide to saving energy in your home.
Rebates & Tax Credits
for U.S. consumers
Rebates for buying energy-efficient appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners are available from both the government as well as manufacturers.
Tax Credits are available for installing things like high-efficiency water heaters, air conditioners, heaters, roofing, insulation, doors & windows, solar panels, etc.
Welcome students from:
* Leander M.S. (6th grade science)
* Champlain Valley Union H.S. (P. Surks' physics class)
* South Adams M.S. (Berne, IN)
* Lincoln M.S. (Portland, ME)
We're recommended by the government of Berks County, PA.
Related sites:
Watt Watt. News about efficiency and conservation, written by readers of the site.
Home Power Magazine. All about renewable energy for the home.
No-Impact Man. Blog about a family striving to have no net impact. (i.e., What little they use, they offset.) Inspirational.
Off-Grid. News and resources about living without being connected to a utility company.
Mr. Electricity in the news:
How long will it take an energy-efficient washer/dryer to pay for itself?, Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 29, 2011
10 Easy Ways to Lower Your Electric Bill, Forbes, August 23, 2011
18 ways to save on utility bills, AARP, July 9, 2011
Hot over the energy bill? Turn off the A/C, just chill, Chicago Tribune, June 24, 2011
This calculator shows how much you spend washing clothes, Lifehacker, May 6, 2011
What you pay when you're away, WCPO Channel 9 (Cincinatti), May 5, 2011
Spotting energy gluttons in your home, Chicago Tribune (CA), Apr. 7, 2011
Walnut Creek author has tips for livng a thrifty life, Contra Costa Times (CA), Jan. 24, 2011
Do space heaters save money and energy?, Mother Jones, Jan. 10, 2011
Energy steps to take for a less pricey winter, Reuters, Nov. 10, 2010
Should you shut down your computer or put it to sleep?, Mother Jones, Nov. 1, 2010
Energy saving tips for fall, Chicago Tribune & Seattle Times Nov. 7, 2010
10 ways to save money on your utility bill, Yahoo! Finance, Oct. 2, 2010
The case against long-distance relationships, Slate, Sep. 3, 2010
10 household items that are bleeding you dry, Times Daily (Florence, AL), July 27, 2010
Cold, hard cash, Kansas City Star, June 22, 10
Stretch your dollar, not your budget, Globe
and Mail, May 18, 10
Auto abstinence, onearth magazine, Winter 2010
2010 Frugal Living Guide, Bankrate.com
Energy-saving schemes yield €5.8m in savings, Times
of Malta, Dec. 20, 09
Four ways to reduce your PC's carbon footprint, CNET,
Dec 2, 09
The day I hit the brakes, onearth magazine, Fall 2009
Enjoy the mild weather, low electricity bills, Detroit
Free Press, Jul 18, 09
The most energy-efficient way to heat a cup of water,
Christian Science Monitor, Jun 16, 09
Ten ways to save energy, Times of Malta,
Jan 3, 09
Measuring your green IT baseline, InfoWorld,
Sep 4, 08
The Power Hungry Digital Lifestyle, PC Magazine, Sep 4, 07
Net
Interest, Newsweek, Feb 12, 07
Going Green, Monsters and Critics, Jan 6,
2007
A hunt for energy hogs, Wall Street Journal
Online, Dec 18 06
 Most "awards" I get are useless because they're from tiny sites that nobody's heard of, and the award-giver is just fishing for a way to get free advertising for their own site. But one morning I woke up and found that Kim Komando had sent more traffic to my Laundry Costs Calculator than Google had sent to my entire website! So I'm happy to publicly thank her for the traffic here. Thanks, Kim!
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Electricity
causes pollution
This chart shows where the U.S. gets its
electricity. Note that most of it was from burning
coal. (Source: Department
of Energy)
How much pollution?
Here's a calculator which will show you
how
much pollution is created from your electrical
use. The typical home accounts for more
pollution than the typical car.
(source)
More on energy
production
On a separate page we have info about
how much fuel is required to
produce electricity.
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ads, not me.
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Fan
Mail
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I purchased a Kill-A-Watt meter to do some
testing a while back after reading your
pages. I couldn't believe it when it
showed that old fridge in the basement (GE
model from the early 80's) was using 6.13
khw per day ! I purchased a new fridge to
replace that old GE unit , bought and
installed few timers throughout the house
and stopped leaving my PC on 24/7. The
result is a 20% reduction in kwh usage for
a 33 day monthly cycle. I am now down in
the low 400's (415 to be exact) for
consumption which is the lowest ever since
I moved into this house in 1996. My next
purchase will be a tankless gas water
heater to replace the 33 gallon unit I
have now.
--
Neil
Sisman, Ontario, Canada, Mar.
2004
Just wanted to thank you for the page
on Electricity usage. It helped my
roommates and I get an estimate of how
much our four computers ate up each
month. Your page settled a huge
argument, Thanks.
--
Jared
Ott, Mar. 2003
GREAT,GREAT WEB SITE! THANKS! I learned
an awful lot. --
Melissa,
Appomattox,VA,
Feb. 2003
I came across your site when I "asked
Jeeves": How much electricity does my
computer use? Simple question, right?!
Well, 5+ pages later I finally got the
answer - on your site!! All your
information is very simple and
exceptionally useful - my thrifty husband
will especially appreciate it! ;) Thanks
again for an easy to use, informative
site. I will bookmark
it!
-- Melanie
Bell,
Dec.
2002
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This information is of limited practical value
I provide the following information because
readers have asked for it, not because I think it's
particularly useful. Nothing below will help you save
electricity or save money on your electric bill. And
while it's important to know that electricity generation
creates pollution, since that's one reason you should
save electricity, it's not important to know exactly how
many pounds of coal are required to create a
kilowatt-hour of electric. If you're interested in
pollution then this
pollution calculator is much more helpful.
Kilowatt-Hours
Electrical power is measured in kilowatt-hours,
abbreviated kWh. See the What's a
kilowatt? section for more.
Coal
Sources conflict on the number of pounds of coal
to create a kWh of electricity:
Transmission and distribution losses are estimated to
be 7.2% (source),
so our adjusted figures would be 2.25, 1.18, and 0.86
lbs. per kWh respectively.
An average household uses around 920 kWh/mo. If they
got all their electricity from burning coal, that's 2070
to 791 pounds of coal per month.
Incidentally, coal-fired plants are only 37-44% efficient at converting coal to electricity. (PDF)
Water
(Hydro/Hydroelectricity/Hydropower)
According to El
Paso Electric it takes 800 gallons of water to make 1
megawatt-hour of electricity (1000 kWh).
Nuclear
(Hydro/Hydroelectricity/Hydropower)
According to Austin
Energy, the Southwest Project nuclear power plant
generates 2500 MW (megawatts) of electricity.
Oil & Natural Gas
I haven't been able to track down this
information.
Figures available from Baywinds
suggest that 0.03 therms of natural gas contains the same
amount of energy as one kWh of electricity, but it would
take somewhat more than 0.03 therms to generate 1 kWh of
electricity because of the inefficiency of the conversion
process, and I don't know how much extra gas is required
due to the inefficiency.
Pollution calculator
This
calculator will tell you how much pollution (sulphur
dioxide, volatile organic compounds, etc.) is caused by
your electrical use.
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Next: How much electricity costs
»»
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