This is a question that we are often asked when working for local residents so we thought it would be useful for our customers, along with anybody else who happens to drop in, if we provided a short guide that helps people to calculate how much power they need to run all the electrical appliances and equipment in their home. The reason we decided to help you calculate your own power consumption, rather than giving you an average figure, is because the answer will be different for every home and will depend on various factors, including the size of your property, how many hours you spend at home every week, and the number and type of appliances that you own. If you have any difficulty doing the maths or you need an electrician in Perth to come to your house, please do not hesitate to contact us by phone or email.
Calculating Your Average Power Consumption
The first thing you need to be aware of is that electricity is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh). 1 kWh equals 1 kilowatt (kW) of power sustained for 1 hour. In other words, if you have a 1,000 watt microwave and you run it on full power for 1 hour, you would use 1 kWh of electricity. Below, we have listed rough power usage figures for electrical appliances and fixtures commonly found in Australian homes.
- Electric Oven – Leave your oven on for an hour at 180°C and you can expect to use around 2 kWh of electricity.
- Toaster Oven – Set your toaster oven at the same temperature for an hour and it will use approximately 1/3 kWh.
- Refrigerator – A modern CEE Tier 3 fridge will use about 425 kWh every year but older models are considerably less efficient, consuming up to 2200 kWh depending on age and technical specifications.
- Desktop PC – Your home computer may consume between 60 and 250 watts per hours, depending on what you are using it for. Power consumption will increase when playing games, editing videos or performing other processor-intensive tasks.
- Laptop Computer – A modern notebook will use 15-45 watts per hour. This figure will vary according to what you use your laptop for and the type of processor and other hardware it features.
- Washing Machine – A modern machine will consume between 1/3 kWh and 4.5 kWh, depending on whether you use cold or hot water cycles.
- Electric Fan – Leave a 2,400 watt fan on for 6 hours and it will use 14.4 kWh of electricity.
As you have probably already noticed, you can work out the kWh consumption of any appliance by multiplying its power rating by the number of hours that it is on. For example: 2,400 watts (2.4 kW) multiplied by 6 = 14.4 kWh. If you need any help calculating your power usage or you would like an electrician in Victoria Park or another part of the city to pay you a visit at your home, please call to make an appointment during normal business hours.