In times when energy prices are rising and energy is to be saved for environmental protection, everyday electricity consumption is an important cost factor. The power consumption is billed in kilowatt hours by the electricity providers. But what is actually behind the unit of measurement kilowatt hour (kWh) and what can you do with one kWh?
Our households are full of devices that need one thing above all else – electricity. In other words, energy that is billed in kilowatt hours (kWh). Whether it’s a washing machine, dishwasher or smartphone, we plug the devices into the socket and the electricity meter calculates the consumption. Nevertheless, the energy consumption of the individual devices remains an abstract quantity. That’s why it’s worth taking a closer look at the measured kilowatt hours in order to be able to estimate your own energy consumption and save money.
How is a kilowatt hour calculated?
Power consumption is given in kilowatts (kW), i.e. the power of an electrical device. 1000 watts are 1 kilowatt (kW). If you now add the period of time in which energy is consumed or generated in a certain capacity, you calculate the so-called kilowatt hour (kWh). For example, a 100-watt light bulb left on for ten hours uses exactly one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy. In this way, it is possible to calculate how much a device consumes within an hour or how much “work” it has done in a period of time.
With one kWh you can brew a good 70 cups of coffee or prepare a meal for four people on the electric stove. Playing with the Playstation is possible for a good five hours with one kilowatt hour or swinging the steam iron for half an hour.
Calculate consumption of electronic devices
Energy consumption is billed in kilowatt hours. However, the actual consumption of devices is often given in watts. The consumption in kilowatt hours can be calculated from the information in watts. The power of the device (watts) is multiplied by time (hours) to give the power consumption in watt-hours (Wh). The number of watt hours can now be divided by 1000 to calculate the kilowatt hours (kWh).
Average consumption of a 2-person household
In order to be able to better estimate the annual electricity consumption, it is worth using the average annual consumption values as a comparison value. According to Statista, the annual consumption of a 2-person household in Germany in 2021 in an apartment building was 2800 kilowatt hours with electric hot water heating and around 2000 kilowatt hours without electric hot water heating. With 2 people in single-family houses, the annual consumption with their own electric hot water preparation was a lot higher at 3500 kilowatt hours. Without electric water heating, single-family households with two people consume approx. 3000 kilowatt hours per year.
In contrast, a 4-person household in a single-family house consumes between 5000 kWh (with hot water) and 4000 kWh (without hot water), while in an apartment building the consumption was between 4100 and 2600 kWh, depending on the hot water preparation.
If you are far above this average consumption of the specified 2 to 4 person households, you can start saving electricity in the household with six tips from TECHBOOK.
This is how much you can do with 1 kWh of electricity
In addition, the following simple examples can be used to illustrate how much electricity can be generated from one kilowatt hour in order to reduce energy-guzzling activities.
With one kWh of electricity you can…
- vacuuming with a 600 watt vacuum cleaner for almost two hours.
- wash around 200 pieces of crockery and cutlery in the dishwasher.
- wash around eleven kilograms of laundry in an Eco program at 40 to 60 degrees.
- toast about 130 slices of bread.
- shave around 2000 times.
- style your hair for an hour with a 1000 watt hair dryer.
- around 111 hours of light from a nine-watt LED lamp.
- around twelve hours of television on an LED television with a screen diagonal of 140 centimetres.