Power Is Money: Investigating the Cost to Run Extra Electrical Devices in the House

Overview

Objectives/Goals Because I was getting in trouble for leaving my lights on, I wanted to find the cost of different electrical devices in a normal household. I wanted to find out who in my family wastes the most money using extra electrical devices; my mother, my father, or me. Because my dad watches TV all of the time, my hypothesis was that he wastes a lot more money on electricity than my mother and me. Methods/Materials I used two EnPower power usage meters to test a lamp, portable DVD player, a laptop, 2 televisions, 2 humidifiers, a toaster, hand-tool battery chargers, a hair dryer, hair curlers, and a Keurig coffee maker. I used the monthly Edison bill to find our average cost per kilowatt hour. I put the cost per kilowatt hour into the power usage meter. I used the average of the highest two tiers on my electric bill because that's how much we would save if we didn't use the extra devices. I tested each device twice for one hour using two different meters. Results I found the cost for each electrical device per year, day, and hour. I adjusted the cost using fractions based on the time we actually use the devices. I used the average of both tests to find the calculated cost of extra electricity per day for my father, my mother, and me. Conclusions/Discussion My father wastes more money than my mother or me combined. My hypothesis was correct. I learned many things from this project. One of the things I learned was the real price of using electricity. Realizing all of this makes me wonder how much money a family can save if they don't use the extra electrical devices. Now when I turn on an electrical device, I think of having to put money in the device like a vending machine. All electrical devices have a cost, some more than others. If we didn't use the devices tested, we would save over $100 a month. I wonder if people would use less electricity if they could see the cost as they use the electrical devices. I'd like to do research on that in the future. I also want to research if electric cars really save money since you have to charge them.

Competition history

• CSEF 2012 Electronics & Electromagnetics · Entry J0905

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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