Calculating Your Energy Costs (how to convert Watts to kWh to $$$)

If you want to control how much you spend for electric energy, it's important to know how to compute the operating costs of your electrical appliances, electric furnace and your lights.

Knowing these costs will help you see where your electric energy dollars are going, how much one appliance costs to operate compared to others, and how to use energy wisely to control your energy costs.

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) charges for the electricity you use by the kilowatt hour (kWh). To determine the kilowatt-hour usage of an appliance, you must first determine the
wattage of the appliance.

For example, a 60-watt light bulb has a wattage of 60; a 1500-watt heater has a wattage of 1500. Next, you need to determine how many hours you use the appliance.

The formula to determine kilowatt hours is:

(Wattage x Hours of use)÷1000 = Kilowatt hours (kWh)

To determine the operating cost of the appliance, you will multiply the kilowatt hours (kWh) by the current OPALCO rate. Currently the OPALCO rate per kWh is $.0758 for residential users.

kWh x OPALCO rate = Operating Cost

FOR EXAMPLE:

Your fan is rated at 600 watts and you use it for 40 hours during the month. To find the kilowatt hours:

(600 x 40) ÷ 1000 = 24 kWh for the month

The cost to operate this fan would be:

24 kWh x .0758 = $1.82 per month