Published by Green by Design under Green Living

Money rules our glance. Be it food, cars, or utility bills–unless physical or financial belt-tightening prompts us to look deeper, we often don’t examine our consumption in terms of the underlying calories we take in, the mpg we roll up, or the kilowatt-hours we burn (kilowatt-hours: kWh–for a definition, see bottom of page).

As a consequence, very few of us pay much attention to how much electricity we use. We heed the bottom line: the number next to PAY THIS AMOUNT on our bills. (Heaven forbid, you should pay automatically through your checking account and never even notice the amount being withdrawn every month! We’ll talk to you later.)

Unless your monthly electric bill is way out of bounds, you sign the check or click to pay, and move on. For the average US household, that’s about $100 per month for 936 kWh of power, according to statistics from the US Department of Energy (2007).

But the average bill doesn’t tell much of a story.

The plot thickens when you consider how much electricity usage varies from state to state–from a low of 530 kWh in Maine (maybe because of all the Swamp Yankees up there?) to a high of 1,344 kWh in Tennessee (does the Tennessee Valley Authority give the stuff away?).

Where is your state in these US Department of Energy statistics? Are your state-mates energy hogs or conservers?

Average Household Monthly Consumption by State

Source: US Department of Energy, 2007

One of the obvious questions these numbers bring up is: why do we see a 250 per cent difference in usage between Tennessee and Maine?

It appears many factors drive consumption, including energy costs, public policy, construction standards, energy system standards, weather, and cultural differences.

Focusing on only the first of these, we see that the cost of electricity, in cents per kWh, varies even more than usage, by 300 per cent. Idaho has the lowest-cost electricity at 6.36¢ per kWh, and Connecticut–on the mainland–leads the pack at 19.11¢. And, as you’d expect, there’s a strong correlation between cost and usage: states that consume more generally have lower energy costs, as shown here:

Source: US Department of Energy, 2007

Hey, I’ll take as much electricity as you’ll give me for $100.

Of course, if you don’t care about your carbon footprint, these stats may not even concern you, as grid power is inexpensive today compared to renewable alternatives. But once you consider switching to a solar array to energize your home, your kWh usage is a critical guide to the cost of equipment needed on your roof.

In his article Weaning Off the Grid, Hubert Den Draak points out that he set a target of 90-150 kWh per month for his solar and wind-powered home, an amount that is only 20-30% of the average usage in Maine, the most energy-efficient state. How easy was it for Hubert to bring the consumption down that low? It required more than replacing a few light bulbs. It involved keeping his house a bit warmer in the summer (little or no AC) and a bit cooler in the winter (67F/19C). It meant installing double-pane windows, plus adding heaps more insulation where he could, and reducing phantom loads.

That said, we can all take the first step to getting what we ultimately want from energy–low cost, environmental health, independence–by simply building awareness and watching usage. Even though money rules our glance, take a second look at the kWh number on your next bill. Make it part of the bill-paying process. Bring it up at the dinner table.

Just watch it at first. Later, set a goal. Pretty soon both money and kWh will rule your glance. After all, kWh is money.

Source: Wikipedia.com