Have you ever wanted to know how much electricity an appliance, light bulb computer, air conditioner, water heater or any electrical product is using? But more importantly, how much does it cost to run it? You see Energy Star rated appliances and products that claim to save you money but how do you know if they do? Below you will find the calculation to figure it out for yourself. Just input information into the calculation and you will know. Because of precise information that you do not have (primarily, your voltage at your service) or variables in the manufacturing process, your calculation will not be perfectly accurate but it will be close enough to know. For voltage, use 120v or 240v, depending on the appliance, this will be the closest to what you have unless you have a voltmeter and can measure the correct voltage at your service.

Locate the nameplate on the electrical product, this shows the Manufacturer, Model Number and Electrical Usage information. Every electrical appliance should have a Watt (W) figure. This is the information that you need to calculate the usage of the electrical appliances that you use in hours. Some do not display Watt, but only Volt (V) and Ampere (A). To get Watt, just multiple Volt and Ampere together. Meaning, V x A = W.

Look at your electricity bill, find what your power company charges you per Kilowatt Hour (KWH) The power company we use has a rate of 8.6 cents per KWH, I will use this rate in the formulas.

Formula to calculate electricity usage charge.

Watts x Hourly Usage / 1000 = KWH
KWH x Rate Charge = Usage Charge
For a whole month, just multiply Usage Charge with 30 because a month consist on average 30 days.

Here is an example for a 60 watt light bulb that is used for 10 hours a day;
60W x 10Hours / 1000 = 0.6 KWh
0.6WH x 0.086(rate) = 0.0516 cents per day
0.0516 x 30 = 1.548 dollars per month

Here is another example for a box fan. The nameplate does not give Watts but states that it runs at 120 Volts and 1.1 Amps. You use it for 5 Hours a day.
Volts x Amps = Watts
Watts x Hourly Usage / 1000 = KWH
KWH x Rate Charge = Usage Charge
For a whole month, just multiply Usage Charge with 30 because a month consist on average 30 days.

120V x 1.1A = 132W
132W x 5Hours / 1000 = 0.66 kWh
0.66WH x 0.086(rate) = 0.0568 cents per day
0.0516 x 30 = 1.704 dollars per month

Current News

Community Christian School Retrofit

At CCS in Pease, MN, Zotz Electrical retrofit three upper classroom's T-12 fluorescent lighting system to an energy efficient T-8 fluorescent system. With the F96 T-12 fluorescents, the school had problems with the ballasts humming and the illumination. When we put in the new T-8 fluorescent troffer fixtures, it was amazing how much light was emitting and no humming. With the T-8 technology, the lamps illuminate better, retain their correct amount of illumination longer and do not hum. Just as important, there is quite substantial money savings. In replacing these fixtures, there should be an approximate savings of $850 per year. And with the East Central Energy Retrofit Rebate Program, they are giving $744 dollars to the school for installing energy efficient fixtures.

The image on the left is the T-12 fixtures and on the right is the T-8 Troffer fixtures. After we installed the new fixtures, it was a nice bright clear light. We then went into a room that still had the old fixtures and there was a brownish hue that made you feel as if you were in a cave.

Minneapolis Duplex Remodel

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