Average Home Electricity Usage
Before going forward with installing any type of sustainable energy technology such as solar or wind power, you'll need to research the current energy consumption of your home or business. Get a baseline to work with before figuring out the specific types of equipment you'll need to install to make your structure a little less dependent on the local utility. Even if you decide not to install solar or wind power generation equipment, you can take many measures to reduce your power consumption. We all know the basics: turn off lights when not in use, make the insulation aisle at the local hardware store your friend, etc. You can then get more advanced by changing out your standard incandescent light bulbs with compact flourescent bulbs (the "swirly" bulbs); they have dropped in price quite a bit in the last few years, and last for half a decade or more. If you want to get really crazy with dropping your electrical "load", you can install propane-powered appliances, use hand tools...as a matter of fact - just become Amish!
Anyway, there are so many factors that can affect the numbers which determine the "average" household's consumption (region, types of energy used, climate, number of people in the household, insulation usage, etc., etc.); the best way to get some "average" usage numbers is by looking at a variety of reports. In addition to these reports (listed below), I have posted a pie chart (at
right) from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, showing how the "average" home parcels out the electricity that it consumes (for 2007)...
Monthly Electricity Consumption for an Average Home (Various Reports)
- 1,100 killowatt-hours (kWh) per month - electricity consumption by the average home serviced by the Florida Power & Light Company. FPL reports that air-conditioning use (remember, this is a Florida utility) makes up about half of it's average household's annual 13,200 kWh consumption.
- 1,000 kWh per month - residential energy consumption (as of 2007), according to Dennis Silverman of the University of California/Irvine*, for the average U.S. home.
- 936 kWh per month - the U.S. Department of Energy's estimate of the average U.S. household's electricity consumption, with appliances accounting for 64.7% of electricity usage (as of 2007).
- 866 kWh per month - The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio's (PUCO) estimate for an average home (presumably in Ohio).
- 780 kWh per month - The American Wind Energy Association estimate for the average U.S. home (or: 9,400 kWh of electricity per year).
- 667 kWh per month - *Mr. Silverman's report for the average electricity usage of the average California home (or: 8,000 kWh per year).
- 594 kWh per month - I can report that this is the average usage within my own household (featuring a modest ranch home which includes two adults and a mid-size dog) for the past 12 months (6/08 - 5/09), for a total annual usage of 7,133 kWh. Incidentally, we don't live like peasants - but we do turn the lights off when they aren't in use, have installed some compact-flourescent bulbs (not everywhere yet, however), and keep an eye on wasteful energy use.
- Just for giggles - 1 megawatt of electricity (when you start discussing utility-grade generating capacity, you start discussing megawatts) will supply the electricity needs for 240 to 300 households per year.
The numbers above give you a starting point; as they say - "your mileage may vary". You can find out this information yourself by accessing your local electric utility's online billing website, where you should be able to look at your bills going back well over one year. Each bill will show your kWh usage for the month in question. Put the numbers in a spreadsheet for the most recent 12-month period to get your annual usage and monthly average usage kWh amounts. This information is crucial if you are thinking about installing solar or wind energy equipment in your home in the future.
Fun Facts / Top Ten World Electricity Consumers by Nation...
- United States
- China
- The European Union
- Japan
- Russia
- Germany
- Canada
- India
- France
- Brazil
...note that the "BRIC" nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) all appear in the "top ten" list. These countries in particular will only increase their energy/electricity consumption in the future. Source: the World Fact Book 2008