By Snohomish County PUD
Have you ever looked at your utility bill and thought, “What is 1 kWh? How much electricity am I actually using?”
A kilowatt hour (kWh) is just that – a measurement of how much energy an appliance, light or piece of electronic equipment is using. The name is a little misleading. It doesn’t translate to the number of kilowatts you’re using per hour. Instead, it’s a measurement of the energy you’d need if you kept a 1,000-watt appliance running for an hour.
But different appliances use different amounts of energy – a television will use less than a dishwasher – so the time it takes for them to reach 1 kWh can vary greatly. It also depends on the model, age and other factors of the appliance.
So, what can 1 kWh power? It varies by appliances – older versions might take more energy to run while newer ones are more energy efficient. Here are a few household examples:
• Running a dishwasher (1,000 watts): 1 hour
• Using a 100-watt light bulb: 10 hours
• Watching a 50-inch LED TV (80 watts): 12.5 hours
• Cooking in the oven (2,000 watts): 30 minutes
• Running the refrigerator (300 watts): 3 hours
• Gaming on a PlayStation 4 (150 watts): 6.67 hours
• An alarm clock (50 watts): 20 hours
• Taking a warm shower (10,000 watts): 6 minutes
• Using a laptop (20-50 watts): All day
• Keeping a broadband router on (7-10 watts): About 4 to 5 days
Again, wattage used can vary greatly between appliances. A window air conditioner, for example, can use between 500 to 1,400 watts, on average.
It is also important to be aware that some appliances still use energy in standby mode, even if they’re turned off. Televisions and computers, for instance, are still using a small amount of power even when they’re turned off. Other appliances in your kitchen – including anything with an LED light or screen that stays on – can also use power even when not being operated.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2021, the average U.S. residential customer consumed 10,632 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, an average of 886 kWh per month, or about 29 kWh per day. This number can vary greatly, however, based on a number of factors, including the size and age of your house or apartment, what region of the country you live in and the type of appliances in your home.
Later this summer, the Snohomish PUD’s Connect Up program will begin a multi-year project installing advanced meters on all homes and businesses in our service territory. These meters will allow customers to see their energy consumption in near real-time, helping you track energy usage and find ways to conserve energy and lower your power bill.
So how does the PUD use kWh to calculate your bill? We multiply your monthly kWh usage by our residential electric rate of 10.14 cents, which is in line with other Northwest utility rates and well below the national average of 15.64 cents per kWh.
The PUD will also start sending out new, redesigned bills later this month that will make it easier – and clearer – for you to find your billing information. We’ve made some changes to the design and layout that will make the bill more readable, with the most important information now displayed at the top in an easier-to-read format.
More information on the new bills, as well as conservation tips and a breakdown of our rates, can be found on our website: snopud.com.
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