Calculate your savings potential for every appliance in your home and get a handle on energy use in your Northeast Ohio home. While energy costs differ from region to region, you’ll spend about 13 percent of those costs to run non-major appliances (everything but the heating and cooling equipment and water heater). Your refrigerator, clothes washer and dryer, and stove consume the largest portion of non-major appliance energy.
The amount of energy required to power an appliance is measured in watts. That number indicates the most power the appliance can use at one time. How much power the appliance actually uses may be different, especially if it has 
several settings.
Most appliances have a label or embossed plate showing electrical information. Some typical appliances and wattage:
- Ceiling fan – 120
- Box fan – 150
- Refrigerator – 725
- Dehumidifier – 785
- Toaster oven – 1,200
- Dishwasher – 1200–2400
- Oven – 3,000
- Water heater – 5,000
Bear in mind that how you use appliances shows up on your utility bill. For example, use a toaster oven when possible to reduce energy costs and keep your kitchen cooler. Dishwashers use twice as much wattage with the heated dry cycle. Dry dishes by hand or air dry them. Don’t use the hot water tap for small amounts of water that won’t get hot anyway. Appliances, especially electronics and computers, often use small amounts of electricity even if they’re turned off. Unplug them when not in use or use a powerstrip as a shut-off.
While appliances list their energy consumption in watts, your power company charges you by the kilowatt hour (kWh) for electricity, where kilowatt means 1,000 watts. Check your utility bill or contact your utility company for the exact rate in your area. The national average cost for electricity is 11.04 cents/kWh, which we use in the sample calculation. Once you know the wattage of the appliance, calculate your savings with a simple formula.
Dehumidifier:
(785 watts × 4 hours/day × 90 days/year) ÷ 1,000
= 282.6 kWh × 11 cents (average) /kWh
= $31.08/year total cost to operate
When you calculate your savings, you get a better idea of where your energy dollar goes and how to control utility costs. Need help with controlling energy costs in your Greater Cleveland area home? Please contact us at Geisel Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing and experience our award-winning service.
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Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about energy savings and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
For those Do it Yourselfers who would rather take control of your own indoor comfort, you can shop our online store for replacement parts, products and accessories!
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