{"id":5954,"date":"2016-07-07T16:31:24","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T16:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.portal.solar.com\/learn\/measuring-home-energy-use\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T18:48:13","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T18:48:13","slug":"measuring-home-energy-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solar.com\/learn\/measuring-home-energy-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Measuring Home Energy Use"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: sans serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">One of the most important steps before installing home solar is figuring out how much energy your home uses, and how big your solar energy system needs to be to cover that usage. Taking a close look at how much energy your various devices consume can be an eye-opening\u00a0and behavior-changing\u00a0experience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: sans serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">We\u2019ll start by exploring the average annual costs from powering the most common home appliances. Then to dig deeper, we\u2019ll compare three home energy consumption monitoring tools. Finally, we\u2019ll see how much money you might save from installing one of those tools, and if it\u2019s worth the investment.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: sans serif; font-size: 20px;\"><strong>Where Does My Energy Go?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: sans serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Whether you\u2019re using the US Department of Energy\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/energy.gov\/energysaver\/estimating-appliance-and-home-electronic-energy-use\">Appliance Energy Calculator<\/a> or a tool like <a href=\"http:\/\/energyusecalculator.com\/calculate_electrical_usage.htm\">EnergyUseCalculator.com<\/a>, you will get a general sense of how much energy goes to power your home. These tools use different assumptions about how long a device is used per day and how much energy it uses. I ended up using EnergyUseCalculator for this post because I found its default assumptions to be closer to my experience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: sans serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Below is the estimated annual cost of 18 common household appliances, based on the <a href=\"#tabs_prices-3\">national average electricity rate<\/a> of 12.58 cents per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mdSzZk3TwhE\">kilowatt-hour<\/a>. Even though you pay for energy on a monthly basis, seeing annual costs will help determine if home energy monitoring services are a good investment for you.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; height: 1286px;\" border=\"1\" width=\"452\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"7\">\n<tbody>\n<tr valign=\"BOTTOM\">\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"5\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Device<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong>Estimated Annual Cost<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Electric water heater\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$551.06<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Central air conditioner<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$482.18<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Space heater<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$344.42<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Refrigerator<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$198.38<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Kitchen stove<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$137.77<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Oven<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$110.21<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Digital Video Recorder (DVR)<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$56.21<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Clothes dryer<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$34.44<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Microwave<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$27.55<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Laptop computer<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$16.53<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Incandescent lightbulb<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$13.78<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Video game console<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$12.40<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">LED television<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$6.89<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Wi-fi router<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$6.61<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Clothes washer<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$5.74<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">CFL lightbulb<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$3.21<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"6\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Mobile phone charger<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$2.07<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 296.017px;\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\" height=\"5\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">LED lightbulb<\/span><\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 153.983px;\" valign=\"BOTTOM\" bgcolor=\"#ffffff\">\n<p align=\"RIGHT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">$1.38<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Look at where your money is going and how small changes,\u00a0such as switching out inefficient lightbulbs,\u00a0can add up to big savings over time. Energy efficiency brings an added benefit for solar homeowners, too. By cutting out wasted energy wherever possible, you\u2019re not only saving on your energy bill, but you can install a smaller solar system to cover your home energy needs.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 20px;\"><strong>How Do I Monitor My Home Energy Use?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Now that you know roughly what\u2019s driving up your energy bill, you may want to find out more about your energy-use profile and manage it in real time. Here\u2019s one do-it-yourself approach: buy a $20 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.p3international.com\/products\/p4400.html\">Kill-A-Watt meter<\/a>, which plugs in between any appliance and the outlet and reports how much energy is being used. If you\u2019ve got a suspected energy hog at home, that is one way to track it down.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">But going plug by plug is a time-intensive process. There are several systems on the market that promise to measure whole home energy and make it easy to get it under control. We\u2019ll compare three platforms that each seems to have active user communities and fairly high user ratings on Amazon: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theenergydetective.com\">The Energy Detective<\/a> (TED), <a href=\"http:\/\/neur.io\">Neurio<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/energycurb.com\">Curb<\/a>. We\u2019ll also look at a more affordable option in <a href=\"https:\/\/chaienergy.com\/\">Chai Energy<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The first three solutions are all quite similar. In your main electrical panel, they connect a sensor that communicates with a central hub, allowing a smartphone app or your computer to read a graphical display of all your energy use information. It functions like a smart meter that\u2019s controlled by you, not your utility.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Chai Energy, currently available in most of California and Baltimore, Maryland, connects directly to your personalized energy usage data made available through the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.greenbuttondata.org\/\">Green Button initiative<\/a>. Going this route, you don\u2019t have to hard-wire any sensors to your electrical panel. By upgrading to Chai Pro, you can see a detailed breakdown of how much energy various appliances are using.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Neurio and Curb let you set targets for reducing energy use, and suggest ways to achieve your goal.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0.14in;\"><span style=\"color: #1f497d; font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><i>Source: Neurio<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">You can explore energy use history and get alerts if you leave home with the oven on. You can also estimate monthly usage and get alerts if you\u2019re on track to go over-budget.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Importantly, these systems are all compatible with home solar energy systems. Each offers a way to track energy generated by your solar panels and how much you\u2019re saving every day using solar energy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: 20px;\"><strong>Is Home Energy Monitoring a Good Investment? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Neurio products cost $180 or $250. TED\u2019s residential products cost $200 or $300. Curb starts at $400 and offers a $700 double-version for large homes. Chai is a free app. For $49, you can upgrade to Chai Pro for more precise monitoring. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: sans serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">For solar homeowners, it\u2019s important to note that Curb is solar-ready out of the box, while TED and Neurio each require an additional investment, $150 for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theenergydetective.com\/\">TED\u2019s solar add-on<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Neurio-Electricity-Monitor-Solar-Expansion\/dp\/B018J7ZJLA\">$60 for Neurio\u2019s<\/a>. Since many solar energy systems include professional monitoring, it\u2019s up to you to decide if it\u2019s worth the investment for the solar packages.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: sans serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">If the cost of home energy monitoring sounds like a lot, consider two facts. Every home wastes at least some energy, and a lack of knowledge is the main thing keeping people from reducing their energy use. Ask anyone who\u2019s driven a Toyota Prius or another car that gives you real-time feedback on your current fuel efficiency, and you\u2019ll understand how quickly people are willing to change their behavior. These services put knowledge front and center. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: sans serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The Energy Detective highlights 36 independent studies showing that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theenergydetective.com\/\">TED users save an average of 12.6 percent<\/a> [PDF] on their monthly electricity bill. If you pay $100 per month to your utility, TED will pay for itself in two to three years.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: sans serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">A <a href=\"http:\/\/green.blogs.nytimes.com\/\/2009\/03\/10\/at-home-with-the-energy-detective\/\">2009 review of TED in <\/a><\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/green.blogs.nytimes.com\/\/2009\/03\/10\/at-home-with-the-energy-detective\/\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><i>The New York Times<\/i><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"> details the immediate costs of everyday activities, including reheating a cup of tea in the microwave and cranking up a space heater to full blast. The author, Joe Hutsko, found his own behavior changing to the point where he turned his heater down to low and bundled up on clothing\u2014and cut his winter heating bill by as much as one-third. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><span style=\"font-family: sans serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">You can\u2019t manage what you don\u2019t measure. If you think your home energy consumption could go on a diet, one of these tools might be right for you.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most important steps before installing home solar is figuring out how much energy your home uses, and how big your solar energy system needs to be to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":6128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.5 (Yoast SEO v19.10) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Measuring Home Energy Use | Solar.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"One of the most important steps before installing home solar is figuring out how much energy your home uses, and how big your solar system needs to be\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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