What Appliances Use the Most Energy?

With increasing rental and housing prices, it is a no-brainer to want to decrease your monthly electricity bill. Even if you are one of the lucky ones who does not have to foot the electricity bill, knowing which appliances use the most energy can help you be more cautious of your user’s environmental impact. It has been found that approximately 35% of the electricity used per year in a household is wasted, which is neither good for your wallet nor the environment.

This is where vampire appliances come in. Vampire appliances or electronics use energy, even when not actively used or shut off. Although many of these electronics make our lives more convenient if you are truly dedicated to reducing your electricity bill, completely unplugging them can dramatically improve your usage.

Not only does understanding which appliances use the most energy help you to pay special attention to these areas of your home, but it also can help a household determine where to invest certain energy efforts. For example, if a solar-powered home is under consideration, knowing which appliances use the most energy can provide insight into a solar panel’s projected functionality.

Here are the appliances that use the most energy:

1. Air conditioning and heating

This is the largest use of a household’s energy, almost 46 percent of the average home’s total electricity. Turn to your air conditioning and heating when reducing total energy consumption. To determine where the most energy is lost, you can conduct an energy audit which tells you which parts of your home to focus on to increase heating efficiency.

For instance, insulation issues are one of the main areas of trouble. To combat this, homeowners often find loose-fill insulation the easiest to install. In the summer months, if a cool breeze is amidst the air, you could opt for opening your windows for natural cooling instead.

2. Lighting

The energy expenditure of lights in a household depends on one’s habits. It can use a significant amount of electricity, especially if the lights are on for most of the day. It can also vary based on what type of lightbulb you are using. For example, an incandescent bulb can dramatically increase a house’s energy usage, while energy-efficient LED lights can reduce consumption.

Some basic tips to avoid hiking up your electricity bill are turning off the lights when you leave a room. You can also rely on using natural lighting. Similarly, put holiday lights on timers so they do not stay on all night. Furthermore, consider installing motion detectors on outdoor lights to ensure they are only in use when needed. Finally, use energy-efficient options like pot light installation.

3. Water heater

After air conditioning and heating, water heaters are the second highest appliance to consume electricity. Unlike air conditioning, it is a necessity year-round. As such, finding energy-efficient solutions to save electricity is your best bet here. One way to do that is to install a tankless water heater, as they only heat water when needed, in contrast to other heaters that heat water throughout the day.

Another option is a solar water heater that uses renewable energy instead. For smaller lifestyle changes, try taking showers instead of baths, wrapping an older water heater with insulation, turning down the water heater when you are on vacation, and installing water-conserving showerheads.

4. Washer and dryer

Washers and dryers are other household staples. After all, you do not want to walk around in stinky clothes! When doing laundry, wait until you have a full load to do a cycle. This way, you reduce the number of times you run your washer and dryer.

Despite this, avoid overfilling the machines as this can cause greater electrical problems. Try washing with cold water, using drying racks instead of the drying machine when possible, and clearing the lint in your dryer after each load.

5. Refrigerator

Although you can not use a refrigerator less, there are ways for you to reduce its energy consumption. For one, try not to overpack your refrigerator. Keep your most-used products in the side door or a location that is easy to reach to keep your fridge open for as long as possible.

Be sure to read over the manual to set your fridge to the temperature recommended by the manufacturer. As well, regularly clean behind and underneath it to ensure optimal airflow. If it is within your budget, you could purchase a modern, energy-efficient model to replace older models.

6. Television and entertainment equipment

Electronics, at the bottom of our list surprisingly, make up another chunk of our energy usage. This includes televisions, cable boxes, and video game consoles. They are also the best example of vampire appliances we mentioned previously.

To avoid spending more energy than needed, try deactivating standby mode and quick start settings, searching for Energy Star-certified electronics, reducing screen brightness, and completely unplugging electronics when not in use.