Homework answers / question archive / Electricity Use Analysis This assignment addresses the following CCO Objectives: 2

Electricity Use Analysis This assignment addresses the following CCO Objectives: 2

Sociology

Share With

---

Electricity Use Analysis

This assignment addresses the following CCO Objectives: 2. Present environmental information using effective written communication 3. Describe, numerically and graphically, various presentations of data

6. Describe conditions that promote various ecosystems and appraise the impacts of human endeavors on them 7. Find, evaluate, use and cite variety of informational resources relevant to environmental science 9. Describe the impact of human activities on natural systems 10. Evaluate a wide range of cultural and social approaches to environmental problems 13. Assess the effect and importance of individual behavior in environmental issues 18. Develop informed views based on critical evaluation of information sources 19. Engage in problem solving of environmental issues

Due Date: Please see the Assignment and Syllabus for Due Dates Credit: This activity is worth _____ points, see Rubric for details.

Part 1: Home Electricity Use Journal All of us use energy in our homes. Most of the energy we use is in the form of electricity. Heating/Cooling systems use significant amounts of electricity, as does lighting and home office equipment. Some residents use natural gas-powered appliances in addition to those powered by electricity. Natural gas is transported to homes via pipes and is burned in the appliance as in a gas stove or water heater. Electricity is produced in a power plant and transported to homes via wires.

To evaluate home energy use, specifically from electricity, you will monitor your personal home electricity use for 2 days. Record the amount of time in hours that any of the following appliances are operating. You may add other electronics/appliances to the list if you use them.

· For items that are always on, your number of hours used is 24hours each day.

· For items that cycle on and off automatically, estimate its run time as 8hours a day.1

· For lighting, remember that most lamps have more than one bulb. Multiply the number of hours the lamp is on by the number of bulbs in the lamp.2

· For technology items, they may have a ‘standby’ mode, which uses energy, but less than when in full operation. Make a note of how many hours ON versus Standby operation.3

Table 1: Household Appliance Run-time

	Device/appliance	Day 1	Day 2	Total Time:
Items that cycle on/off automatically 1
	Refrigerator	8h	8h	16h
	HVAC unit
	Water Heater
	(De)humidifier
Lighting 2				Total time:
	# incandescent bulbs: __________
	# florescent bulbs: ____________
	# LED bulbs: ____________
	# night lights: ___________
Items that are “on” constantly				Total time:
	Internet router	24h	24h	48h
	Cable box	24h	24h	48h
	Wall clock/alarm clock	24h	24h	48h
	Smart Home assistant (Alexa, GoogleHome)	24h	24h	48h
Specific use items				Total time:
	Microwave
	Toaster
	Toaster oven
	Stove top
	Oven
	Coffeemaker
	Clothes washer
	Clothes dryer
	Iron
	Portable speaker
	Electric razor
	Hair dryer
	Curling iron/flat iron
	Fan (s)
Technology3		On / Standby	On / Standby	Total time:
	Cell phone charger	3h / 21h (charger plugged in)	1h / 23h (charger plugged in)	4h / 44h
	Game system
	TV 1
	TV 2
	Computer 1	10h / 14h (plugged in, closed)	2h / 22h (plugged in, closed)	12h / 36h
	Computer 2
	Printer

 

Part 2: Calculate your Personal Yearly Energy Use For each of the appliances you used (Table 1), multiply the number of hours used over 2 days by the number of watts. Then divide that number by 1000 to get kilowatt-hours (KWH). After everything is calculated, find the average daily use by dividing by the number of days included.

Example: Example: I watched TV for 1.5 hours over 2 days. I have a refrigerator, it runs automatically.

1.5hrs x 300 W = 450 Wh 8h x 2 days = 16hrs x 750W = 12,000 Wh

450 W / 1000 = 0.45 kWh 12,000 W / 1000 = 12 kWh

Example: I have 6 lights with 2 incandescent bulbs each which are used for 6 hours each day.

6 lights x 2 bulbs each = 12 bulbs, 6hrs x 2 days = 12 hours 12bulbs @ 50W each = 600 W x 12hours = 7,200 Wh 7,200 Wh / 1000 = 7.2 kWh

If you want to find out what the wattage (W) is for something that is not given below (indicated by a blank instead of a number) then look on the back or bottom of the item, and it usually is written there. If it does not indicate the wattage, then look for the amperage (A). The number of amps multiplied by 120 (volts) is equal to the wattage. Example: This computer uses 1 amp x 120 volts = 120 watts

 

 

 

Be certain, if you have looked up the wattage for your appliance, to cite the source or indicate how you discovered the value.

Wattage for Typical Appliances used in the American Home
Appliance	Wattage	Appliance	Wattage
Refrigerator (~16 cubic ft)	750	Microwave	1,100
Dishwasher (air dry)	1200	Stove (electric)	12,000
Dishwasher (drying feature on)	2400	Oven (electric)	12,000
Toaster	1100	Stove (gas)	2,051
Washing machine	375	Oven (gas)	4,836
Clothes dryer (electric)	5,000	Clock	4
Clothes dryer (gas)	3,224	Iron	1,000
Incandescent lights	Check on bulb	Hair dryer	1,600
Fluorescent lights	18	Electric razor	Check on razor
Radio (clock or other)	10	Fan	75 ceiling; 100 box
Stereo (full size)	80	Computer + Monitor	200 on; 20 sleep mode
VCR/DVD	19	Laptop	45
Cable/satellite box	45	Inkjet printer	5 if off, 30 if printing
Wireless router	6	PS4/Xbox One	100
TV – 27”	80	PS3/Xbox 360	185
TV – 36”	113
TV – 53”	133
Coffee maker	750

 

 

 

Additional resources for finding the wattage of appliances can be found at: Matthew. (2020, April 13). Power consumption of household appliances. Generatorist.com, Retrieved

from https://generatorist.com/power-consumption-of-household-appliances Schlossberg, T. (2016, May 7). Just how much power do your electronics use when they are ‘off’? The

New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/science/just-how-much-power-do-your-electronics-use-when-they-are-off.html

Electricity Calculations:

Device / Appliance	#hours operating	X	Wattage of device	/ 1000 =	kWh over 2 days
Refrigerator	16 h	X	750 W	/ 1000 =	12 kWh
		X		/ 1000 =
		X		/ 1000 =
		X		/ 1000 =
		X		/ 1000 =
		X		/ 1000 =
		X		/ 1000 =

Add additional rows for each device or appliance you used. Total: ________ kWh in ___ days Average daily total: ________ kWh

Now, calculate the total energy used in a year (HINT: 365 days in a year): TOTAL: Average daily total _______ kWh x 365 days = ____________ kWh per year

 

 

Part 3: Analysis and Conclusions

In 3 - 4 well-written and logically organized paragraphs, respond thoughtfully to the questions below. Be certain to properly cite your sources in APA format with a full references list at the end of your submission.

· How much household energy does the average American use?

· How does your energy use compare to this average?

(continues on next page)

· What is the fuel mixture used to generate the electricity in your home? (Be certain to cite your sources.)

· What is the carbon footprint (in kg of CO2e) for this electricity? (Show how you arrived at this value.)

 

· If all the energy came from coal, what would be your footprint?

· If all the energy came from a renewable source like wind, what would be your footprint?

 

Because it is challenging to compare energy use from electricity between industrialized nations like the US and developing nations like Nigeria or Pakistan, the United Nations compares energy use in ‘kg of oil equivalent’. This data can be found online from the UN and the World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.USE.PCAP.KG.OE?view=map&year=2014&year_high_desc=false

· Convert your energy use in kWh to kg of oil equivalent (11.6kWh = 1kg oil)

· Identify the energy use in kg of oil equivalent per person in the US in the most recent year for which data are available.

· Identify the energy use in kg of oil equivalent per person in Nigeria.

· Identify the energy use in kg of oil equivalent per person in Pakistan.

· How would you have to change your life to live like a typical Nigerian or Pakistani person?

 

· How could you reduce your household energy use? Provide specific actions you could take to reduce energy use.

· How could you reduce the carbon footprint of the energy you use?

· Estimates are that 10 – 25% of household energy use is ‘vampire’ energy from items that are unused but on ‘standby’. What percentage of your household electricity use comes from items which are using electricity but are not being actively used by a person? HINT: Look at the Technology section of Table 1.

Submission:

Submit your Energy Use Analysis Assignment as a single document and upload it the assignment submission link on Blackboard. Your document should include both your tables, your essay, and references. You must use academic English in your response, and you must provide citations in APA for all information outside of your personal experiences (include in-text citations AND a full reference list)