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How much hydro do you consume?

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Sr. Member
Sep 5, 2005
973 posts
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How much hydro do you consume?

I'm curious to see how much others here consume regarding electricity. Your habits, your household size, appliances, and so on. I'd like to cut down my usage, but I'm not sure how. In fact, I'm even surprised by the amount of consumption we use given the size of our apartment, and our lifestyle.

Details:
- 2 people in a 900 sq ft apartment
- 90% of our bulbs are halogen, or CFL. Lots of natural light. Usually lights are on only in the room we are in.
- modern fridge and stove. Typically we use the toaster oven for smaller dishes.
- electric water heater
- limited TV hours - we use the stereo more often than the TV.
- single laptop computer, turned off when not in use
- no washer, dryer, electric baseboard heater, deep freeze freezer, air conditioner, etc.

Our bi-monthly usage is about 775 - 850 kWh, or 12.75 - 14 kWh/day (slightly higher usage in the winter). Excluding the water tank rental ($10/month), our hydro bill is approximately $100-110/2 months.

Is it me, or does this seem very high for just two people, considering we don't use a washer/dryer/AC?

Anybody else out there care to post their electrical consumption details? I'd really like to get an idea of if this is normal or not!
31 replies
Deal Guru
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Apr 17, 2005
11038 posts
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Brampton
Our Hydro usage for last month was 400 kWh $53 Total - there are 2 adults & 3 kids in the house...no AC yet & have gas cooktop...& most bulbs are the energy saving, exept few lights...even have 3 outside lights on everyday too (reg. bulbs) :) Plus we use our LG washer & electric dryer at least 2x week plus new appliances with a big built-in fridge, water heater gas & house size is 4,100 sq. ft... ;)

So pretty good I think...in Jan. our bill was slightly higher @ $80 for 670 kWh.
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Sr. Member
Sep 5, 2005
973 posts
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patrob wrote: Our Hydro usage for last month was 400 kWh $53 Total - there are 2 adults & 3 kids in the house...no AC yet & have gas cooktop...& most bulbs are the energy saving, exept few lights...even have 3 outside lights on everyday too (reg. bulbs) :)

So pretty good I think...in Jan. our bill was slightly higher @ $80 for 670 kWh.
Is this for one month of usage, or two months (unless things are different in Brampton)?
Deal Guru
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Apr 17, 2005
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Brampton
epiphony wrote: Is this for one month of usage, or two months (unless things are different in Brampton)?
1 month
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Deal Fanatic
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Nov 19, 2004
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Cambridge, ON
epiphony wrote: Is it me, or does this seem very high for just two people, considering we don't use a washer/dryer/AC?

Anybody else out there care to post their electrical consumption details? I'd really like to get an idea of if this is normal or not!
It does seem a little high considering your stated usage details.

Our details:

-4 people
- 1700sqft home
- mostly CFLs and only have lights on in rooms we use
- tv is used 1-3 hours a day
- newer energy efficient appliances
- we use a washer
- no dryer
- almost never use our AC
- desktop computer which is used roughly 6-8 hours a day

Our usage is about 175-320 kWh per month depending on the season (lowest in summer months).

The main difference we have is that our water heater is gas and not electric. The electric water heater is probably the main cause for the higher consumption.
Sr. Member
Mar 16, 2004
547 posts
262 upvotes
your usage does seem high, although as noted above it may be due to the electric water heater.

i have a 1600sqft townhouse and spend roughly 50-60/mth

- most lighting is CFL, basement is halogen (rarely used). lights are only open in the rooms we are in with the exception of the outside light (13W CFL x 2) which is on all night
- all modern energy star appliances (including FL washer/dryer) with the exception of a very old fridge in the basement
- no AC but have several fans running all day during the summer
- 2 PC's, one laptop and a desktop w/ 550W PSU which is on 24/7
- old CRT TV w/ PVR, AV receiver, and xbox on for roughly 4hrs/day
Deal Addict
Feb 10, 2006
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Kitchener
I wish I had your bills. For two months I have 1830kWh and that is a low month for me. Now that the AC is coming on I am sure it will only go up. I can not figure out why mine is so much. I have 2 kids and two adults. Half of the house is energy eff. bulbs and I turn off everything I can. I can look at my meter and it is absolutely flying on a regular basis and I do not know what is causing it.......
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Nov 19, 2004
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Double_J wrote: I wish I had your bills. For two months I have 1830kWh and that is a low month for me. Now that the AC is coming on I am sure it will only go up. I can not figure out why mine is so much. I have 2 kids and two adults. Half of the house is energy eff. bulbs and I turn off everything I can. I can look at my meter and it is absolutely flying on a regular basis and I do not know what is causing it.......
Lifestyle can also be a big factor as well. You have 4 people in you house but do they all watch the same tv shows, use rooms (lights) together? If everyone is cooking for themselves, you can see how that can add up.
Is one piece of clothing being laundered because someone wants it for the night out? Or how about computers in the house left on all day? Monitors?

Appliances are a factor as well. If they are older, they can use a significant higher amount of energy. A fridge 10 years ago uses a lot more energy than a fridge now and if it is older than that it can use over two times more energy. So if you have more than one fridge, especially an older one, can you do without?

Of course if your home is electric heat or the water heater is electric, you can expect a big increase in electric use.

I am only stating possibilities not necessarly the reasons, since I don't know how things work in your home. Depends how serious you are about reducing the energy use in your home. But if you are partly serious, it might be a good idea to track down some of the causes. Turn off a few breakers maybe and see if the meter impact is noticeable (of course make sure the AC is off while doing this). Don't worry about appliances unless you are on the market for new ones but when that time comes, consider the cost of running the appliance as well when making a decision. Most of all, just keep doing the little things and eventually you will find it easier to reduce and will notice a difference. Do you really need that clock in the kitchen when the stove has the time on it? Changing one light bulb may not translate into much in the way of savings, but it does begin to add up as you do more and more.

I consider us to be very energy efficient but I do still find new ways to reduce. And I don't feel that we are missing out or suffering because of it. No one worries about turning something on. If someone wants to play video games, they do. No consideration for the enrgy it uses. But once they are done, it gets turned off and once they leave the room the light goes out.
Deal Addict
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Nov 24, 2005
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SW Ontario
in the winter we use about 900 - 1000 kWh/month, and around 2000/month in the summer

gas furnace, gas hot water heater, gas cooktop

central a/c running 12 - 15 hrs/day, sometimes 24 hrs/day (I like it cool), washer & dryer, no clothesline

2 people
Deal Addict
Feb 10, 2006
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Kitchener
Does anybody know how much PC's use? I know my pwr supply is rated for 300 watts but that can not be what it draws from the wall on average. When the computer is idle I am sure it will draw less but how much? I hardly turn mine off, but I am started to wonder how much this thing costs over the two months.
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Nov 19, 2004
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Double_J wrote: Does anybody know how much PC's use? I know my pwr supply is rated for 300 watts but that can not be what it draws from the wall on average. When the computer is idle I am sure it will draw less but how much? I hardly turn mine off, but I am started to wonder how much this thing costs over the two months.
It is hard to say exactly how much a computer uses. Even though it says 300W, it depends on what the computer is doing. The 300W is the maximum so it is probably running at a lot less. If you are running high end graphic cards and demand heavy games, you will use more power.

When the computer is idle, I assume you mean in sleep mode. This uses very little power (1-10W). But this is for sleep mode, not running screensavers or something.

Your monitor will draw roughly 70-100W depending on size. LCD monitors are a lot less (30-40W). You also have modems, routers, speakers and any other peripherals that may be on. All use some amount. The modem for example may use 7-10W and has no sleep mode so if it is on all the time, this is continuous.

So using the computer for 6 hours a day will be roughly:

computer=80W
lcd monitor = 35W
modem and router= 12W
Total = 127W x 6 hours / 1000 = 0.76kWh per day

Computer in sleep mode for 18 hours:

computer=5W
monitor =5W
modem and router=12W
Total = 22W x 18 hours / 1000 = 0.4kWh per day

Please keep in mind these numbers are just rough guesses as I have no idea what your computer is used for or the actual ratings for everything you use.

All in all, it doesn't cost a lot but you can see it uses the same amount of power in 18 hours of sleep mode as it does for 3 hours of use. It doesn't hurt to turn off the computer. Just to note, even off a computer (like many electronics) will still draw a small amount of power (1-2W).

The computer is a low energy item in comparison to fridges, stoves, microwaves, coffee makers, light bulbs (since usually multiple) etc. so those are the things you want to look at. However, like I said, the little things do add up.
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Feb 10, 2006
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Kitchener
Thanks for the info. I just made some changes to my appliances, and hopefully that will lower the bill by a bit. My freezer was set to -4, and I turned it down to -3. My main freezer was also at -4 and I turned it down to -2.5

As well I have a small bar fridge that I am thinking of unplugging. I have beer in it but I could easily move the beer to the main fridge, and shut it down.

I checked and as I thought my water heater is gas so I can not tweak that, but I want to try the different fuze panel idea to see where my largest energy draw is coming from.
Jr. Member
Aug 24, 2004
146 posts
1 upvote
Stove, oven, cloth dryer and maybe the jet tub are the major power sucker. Compared to them, the bulbs (cfl or not), computer, fridge are just peanuts.

Cook less and save more, though easy said than done.
Deal Fanatic
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Nov 19, 2004
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Cambridge, ON
Double_J wrote: Thanks for the info. I just made some changes to my appliances, and hopefully that will lower the bill by a bit. My freezer was set to -4, and I turned it down to -3. My main freezer was also at -4 and I turned it down to -2.5

As well I have a small bar fridge that I am thinking of unplugging. I have beer in it but I could easily move the beer to the main fridge, and shut it down.

I checked and as I thought my water heater is gas so I can not tweak that, but I want to try the different fuze panel idea to see where my largest energy draw is coming from.
Just know it doesn't usually happen all at once. Do a bit here and there as the opportunities arise. It may take years to reduce your usage to levels you like.

Just be careful with raising fridge and freezer temperatures. You don't want to reach an unsafe temperature. Right now if your settings are correct you are fine (I am assuming those are farenheit).

Obviously appliances such as oven are a big draw but there isn't alot you can do. You have to live with the appliances you have for now.

Even a gas water heater can use electricity to run. Depends on the type. If you have a high efficiency furnace, you probably have a blower on your water heater that has to run while heating the water. So reducing temperature of the water heater saves both gas and electric. Again, there is a certain minimum temperature setting that is recommended to help control bacterial buildup.

As for the beer fridge, depends on the age and size. Many people keep their old fridge for a beer fridge and they consume alot of energy. If you can unplug it then great. If you need a good stock of cold beer then I wouldn't. We have a cold cellar so we keep pop, beer, etc. there and just keep a few in our main fridge and bring up more as needed.

We don't use the AC much which is a big user. I am sure you know this but consider turning it up a degree or two. Use a fan instead if you feel comfortable. One thing I notice with people using the AC is that it runs day and night. Fine if it is hot day and night but many nights cool down to 20degC or below. Turn off the AC and open the windows overnight. The house cools down a lot faster with open windows than with the AC. Keep the curtains or blinds closed on the side of the house the sun is shining on.

I find the most important mentality when conserving energy is not to be worried about it, just be concious of it when there is a choice to be made. Don't be afraid to turn on the oven (my wife likes to bake all the time) but consider if the toaster oven will do instead. Don't shy away from using the dishwasher, just be sure it is full.

Anyway, good luck with your efforts. Remeber they may not be evident from the start but compare a year from now and see, and hopefully you will see some results.
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Feb 10, 2006
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Kitchener
The appliances are all fairly new ( 2-3 yrs old ), same with the other things in the house as it was just built. I also noticed the dishwasher was set to high temperature wash, meaning the element would heat up the water more during the wash cycle.

I did the breaker test and watched the meter outside while each breaker was turned on and off. No, AC or major appliance was running at the time so the largest impact I noticed was the breaker marked Basement. Funny thing when I came down stairs to see what was affected it was only my PC, and one outlet, that has a cordless phone in it. Not to much I can change bout those two :mad:

Anyway thanks for the tips and if you have some more ideas let me know and I can give them a try!
Sr. Member
Sep 5, 2005
973 posts
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I recall hearing somewhere that you might be able to borrow these gadgets from your local library that you plug into your outlet and it tells you exactly how much electricity the appliances plugged into it are using, and how much it costs you.

I'm not sure where I heard this from, but it sounds like it might be worth looking into.

I'm really shocked that it's likely my hot water tank that's causing my "high" consumption. The tank is new-ish, the pipes are insulated (from what I can see anyway, since my residence is a rental unit in a house). Other than short morning showers, hot water for dishes, and brushing my teeth, we don't use much else.

We also have a air purifier, but have stopped using it now that summer's here and our windows are open all the time. We've started turning off the power bar that our computer/printer/speakers each night.
Deal Fanatic
Feb 1, 2006
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Muskoka
We're using about 750kwh/month on average (just checked last 6 months bills), 1800 sq ft house. Quite a bit higher than it used to be, but I attribute it to the fact that we have two kids and one of us is always home with them, as well as that we have an ERV and run our furnace fan 24/7 as required for it.

Future plans for efficiency are to switch to a laptop (far less power draw), and replace dryer with more efficient model.
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Nov 19, 2004
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epiphony wrote: I'm really shocked that it's likely my hot water tank that's causing my "high" consumption. The tank is new-ish, the pipes are insulated (from what I can see anyway, since my residence is a rental unit in a house). Other than short morning showers, hot water for dishes, and brushing my teeth, we don't use much else.

Electric water heaters are one of the top users of electricity in the home. The thing with water heaters is that you are still using energy all the time even if not using hot water. The temperature is maintained all day in the tank so it is constantly turning on to heat the water. Obviously using it would require more energy to heat cold water. The better insulated, the less heat loss will occur. If you have the choice gas water heaters are better and cost less to run.
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Feb 10, 2006
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Kitchener
I have also started turning off my power bars, when the items are not in use. I have two power bars that run my two pc's ( and all the fixings ), tv, Wii, 360, stereo, and satellite dish.

By shutting these off at the source when I am not using them I am hoping to reduce the phantom draw. Bar fridge is unplugged now! To bad the AC has been on all weekend though :(

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