Home Energy Consumption

The Reality Behind Home Energy Consumption

Home energy consumption is usually associated with the word “Expensive” when it comes to utility bills. It seems that every day, the cost of electricity keeps getting higher and higher.

Using alternative energy as a way of lower bills doesn’t come cheaply if you don’t know what you’re doing. 

The energy of information administration of the US department of energy has recently concluded a survey on the home energy consumption of US households during the year 2001. Would you believe that American households consume 355.7 billion kWh just to keep themselves cool or hot? That’s 31.2 percent of the total home energy consumption!

There is also the problem of transition from conventional energy sources to the alternative energy sources. Many people are suspicious of any new methods and would prefer to stick with their conventional electricity.

However, these people are gradually being persuaded to explore ‘greener’ energy sources mainly because of the high cost of home energy consumption. New energy technology, of course, takes some time to perfect.

The main sources currently at are …

·         Energy conservation

·         Solar energy

·         Wind energy

·         Generators (It’s greener than you think!)

·         Hybrid solar/wind/generators systems.

·         Micro-Hydro Systems

Everyone is different, living in different locations, requiring different solutions. So, not all alternative energy sources are suited equally for all home owners. There is no one size fits all here. So the first order of business is designing an energy system that is right for you, is to understand how much energy you’re currently using…and where you are using it.

Some simple math you’ll need to know.

Power = Amps x Volts  or  Watts = Amps x Volts

Why is this important?

Because you need to find out, at any given moment, how much electricity your home consumes on a regular basis.  From there you can “guesstimate” what size system you’ll need to comfortably run your home.

A home energy audit is needed in order to find out which alternative energy source is best suited for your home.