Recent years have been rather challenging for every American family. The utility bills keep growing while the average family income remains quite a bit the same. How can you handle this? How to make your household consume less energy? Well, you’ll never know until you find out your average electricity usage.
How Much Power Does Your House Need?
Based on the statistics provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a residential electric utility customer purchased 889 kWh of electricity monthly in 2022. This figure varied significantly depending on the state of residence. In Louisiana, the rate of annual household energy consumption was twice as high as in Hawaii.
What does this depend on? The primary reason different households consume different amounts of energy is their size. A 200 sq. ft. house requires more electricity for heating, conditioning, and hot water than an apartment that is twice or thrice smaller.
Also, a lot of houses use gas for heating and hot water, which helps reduce their electricity bills yet adds to their gas bills, which are still super expensive.
Your Power Bill Size: How Is It Calculated?
In the USA, there are multiple power suppliers who offer different prices for the same services. Depending on what company sells you the power and your consumption rates, the size of your electricity bill will vary.
Some power-supplying companies have special offers that allow for saving some money on electricity bills. For instance, you can get a prepaid electricity meter. It helps you take better control of your consumption, avoid high electricity bills, and use your financial resources more wisely.
By the way, if you need to calculate your annual power use or the amount of electric energy your household consumes per month or day, the OneConvert power consumption calculator will come in handy, especially if you have to convert between the units. It will also help you determine the amount of kWh you should prepay to stay comfortable.
If you want to be radical in your power supply solutions, you should pay attention to green energy sources. With the development of the technology, you have multiple options at hand, with solar energy and wind energy being the most accessible.
Making the Right Decisions to Cut Your Power Bills
Many houseowners don’t understand the importance of calculating their average electricity consumption. However, this is one of the essential figures you should know, and here’s why.
Energy Contract Benefits
Before choosing the supplier, it will be wise of you to monitor the per kWh price on the market to ensure you opt for the most beneficial electricity plans. When you know your average consumption, you can pick the company offering not only cheap electricity but also the most beneficial contract conditions.
Using Electricity Wisely
If your goal is to make your utility bills smaller, it’s time to revise your electricity and gas consumption patterns to see the peak consumption days and hours in your house. With this information, you can optimize the use of electrical devices and be able to pay less.
Top 5 Criteria Determining Your Household Electricity Consumption
Multiple factors should be taken into account when calculating the average amount of electricity and gas you use.
The House Size
The square footage of your home is the decisive factor in your power consumption. The difference in the volume you heat in a small one-bedroom apartment and a large four-bedroom house is huge. So, when buying a larger house for your family, be prepared your bills will skyrocket.
Your Geography
Living in North Dakota or Maine, your bills will definitely be higher during winter when you have to use electric heating. In summer, however, you’ll spend less as you are not likely to use air conditioning often. A totally opposite thing works for the residents of the southern states, who use air conditioning during the hot summer but can save some cash in winter as they don’t need to use heating a lot.
Insulation and Energy Effective Technologies
New homes tend to be more energy-effective compared to the old ones. Better insulation, conditioning systems, and overall quality of the building materials allow saving more in a newly built home.
Family Size
The average electricity usage grows proportionately to the number of people living in one home. More people means more money you’ll have to pay for your bills.
Your Lifestyle
If you’re a stay-at-home parent or work from home, you probably use more electricity throughout the day than the families who leave early in the morning and come home late.
Tips to Reduce Your Average Energy Consumption
- Use eco-friendly and energy-effective devices in your home;
- Keep the air temperature at 64 – 66°F;
- Turn off the lights and unplug the devices that you don’t need;
- Don’t run your dishwasher or washing machine half empty;
- Use energy-effective light throughout the house.