Energy Audit of Own Shelter

Objective

To analyse the electricity usage of your own shelter.

Outcome

Students will get an idea about the most energy intensive devices in their homes, and how they can reduce energy consumption from these devices. 

Requirements

Electrical appliances in household, monthly/bi-monthly electricity bill.

Prerequisites

 A conceptual knowledge of energy consumption. Electrical energy requirement and consumption of the appliances or machines at one’s own house.

Procedure

Step 1: Identify all the electrical appliances in your home.

Step 2: Look for nameplates on each appliance.

Step 3: Note down the value of power consumption mentioned on the nameplate of each appliance.

Step 4: Estimate average daily operation hours of each appliance for the previous month. Multiply it by 30 or 60 (based on whether you get a monthly or bi-monthly bill) to get monthly/bi-monthly operation hours.

Step 5: Estimate the monthly/bi-monthly electricity consumption of each device by multiplying power consumption with operation hours.

Sample Calculation:

Calculate the cost to run the appliance

Annual/Monthly cost = Energy consumed annually/Monthly x rate of utility per kWh

Using the above formula, let us find the annual cost to operate an AC.

• Run time per day: Let us assume that it is summer and you run the AC for 7 hours a day for lets say 20 days a month.
• Wattage: You will find the wattage on the label or the user manual. Let us assume it as 1500 W.
• Energy consumed daily: (1,500 x 7) ÷ 1,000 = 10.5 kWh
• Energy consumed annually: Let us assume you run the AC for 200 days in a year.

10.5 kWh x 200 = 2,100 kWh

• Annual cost: Let us assume the utility rate is 12 rupees per kWh

2,100 x 12/kWh = 25,200 INR per year .

Considering this as a sample calculation, calculate the electricity consumption of other appliances in your household.

Step 6: Add the electricity consumption from all the appliances to get an estimate of monthly electricity consumption of your home.

Step 7: Tally this value with the electricity consumption of last month/ two months, mentioned in the electricity bill. Both values should be close.

Step 8: Identify the three most energy intensive appliances in your home, based on their energy consumption.

Step 9: Reflect on the ways in which you can decrease the energy consumption of these appliances in order to reduce your bill. 

Table

Appliance	Power Consumption (P) (kW)	Average Daily Operation (Td) (hrs)	Monthly/bi-monthly operation days (D)	Monthly/Bi-monthly Consumption (Tm) (hrs) = TdxD	Monthly/Bi-monthly Electricity Consumption (E) (kWh) = P x Tm
Tubelight 1
Tubelight 2
Fan 1
Fan 2
Bulb 1
Bulb 2
Refrigerator
Television
Geyser
Oven
Air Conditioner
…
Other
Total	–	–		–

References

Nameplate of an Air Conditioner

• cBalance Database: HomeEnergyAuditRedyReckoner_india_no2co2_2011.pdf
• Wattage and Power consumption of appliances: https://letsavelectricity.com/wattage-power-consumption-of-household-appliances/