Why is this important?
When you turn on any electrical device, it uses electricity and you are charged for the amount used. This amount varies greatly depending on the device and the length of time it is used. You need to know the unit of measure for electricity.
What’s a watt?
A watt (W) is the unit used to measure the flow of electricity. Look at your device and find out the device use in watts. This hair dryer uses 1600W.
A watt is a very small unit so kilowatt is used most often.
1 Kilowatt (kW)= 1000 watts
Convert from watts to kilowatts by dividing by 1000.
1600 W = 1600/1000 = 1.6 kW
The total amount of electricity used depends on how long the device is on. The unit for this is kilowatt hour (kWh).
kilowatt hour = kW x hours
If the hair dryer is used for 4 minutes per day this amounts to:
4 minutes x 365 days
= 1460 minutes
= 1460 / 60 minutes per hour = 24.33 hours in a year.
In one year the hair dryer uses:
1.6 kW x 24.33 hours = 39 kWh
Why is this important?
The production of electricity produces by-products called greenhouse gases (GHGs). These 7 gases cause changes in the upper atmosphere. Most climate scientists agree that the main cause of the current global warming trend is the over-production of GHGs.
GHG Emission Sources
Some sources of electricity production emit more GHGs than others. Burning coal to generate electricity produces the highest GHGs and renewable energy sources produce almost no GHGs. In Nova Scotia, electricity generates on average 710 grams of GHGs per kilowatt hour (710 g/kWh).
Save Energy, Save the Environment
Governments, businesses and citizens want to reduce GHGs emissions and the impacts of climate change.
Back to the hair dryer. It used 39 kWh in a year and in Nova Scotia each kWh emits 710 g GHG:
39 kWh x 710 g/kWh = 27,690 g GHG
Why is this important?
Electric bills can get very expensive. Everyone is trying to save money. Cost is a big motivating factor in energy conservation and efficiency.
In Nova Scotia, electricity is priced depending on the time of day. This encourages people to adjust their activities in order to move thier electricity to off-peak and mid-peaks times. This also helps level the demand for electricity and reduce GHG emissions. The time-of-use rates change with the seasons as our electricity use changes. Summer peak is in the afternoon when it is hot and air conditioning use is high. The short winter days put the peaks in the morning and late afternoon.
Off-Peak: $0.0929/kWh
• Weekends & Holidays, 24 Hours / Day
• Weekdays, March to November - 11pm to 7am
• Weekdays, December to February - 11pm to 7am
Standard Rate: $0.1622/kWh
• Weekdays, March to November - 7am to 11pm
• Weekdays, December to February - 12pm to 4pm
On-Peak: $0.2057/kWh
• Weekdays, December to February - 7am to 12pm & 4pm to 11pm
To run the hair dryer for one year costs:
Off-peak 39 kWh x $ .0929 = $3.62
Standard Rate 39 kWh x $ .1622 = $6.33
On-peak 39 kWh x $ .2057 = $8.02
