In today’s increasingly electronic age, we know our devices and household appliances use energy, but do you know how much energy? And how does the energy use of one device or appliance compare with another? Test your knowledge below to find out the biggest energy hogs and the best energy savers in your home.
Which uses more energy: phantom load created by leaving your cell phone charger plugged in all day (24 hours) or using your laptop for 90 minutes?
Answer: Cell phone charger, it uses 96 watts while a laptop uses 75 watts.
Takeaway: Unplug your cell phone charger when not in use to prevent unused energy from escaping.
Which uses more energy: baking cookies in the oven (30 minutes) or blow drying your hair (1 hour)?
Answer: Blowdrying your hair uses 1,538 watts while the oven uses 1,150 watts.
Takeaway: The oven is an energy super user. Have a small convection oven? It might be great for more efficiently baking a small batch of cookies.
Which uses more energy: washing clothes in the washing machine ( 1 hour) or drying clothes in the dryer (1 hour)?
Answer: Dryer uses 3,400 watts and washer uses 425 watts.
Takeaway: It takes way more energy to dry your clothes than to wash them. If you can line dry some items, you’ll save a lot of energy and money.
Which uses more energy: doing a load of dishes in the dishwasher (1 hour), or watching a 3-hour football game on your LCD TV?
Answer: Dishwasher uses 1,800 watts while the television uses 639 watts.
Takeaway: Dishwashers are great water savers, so keep using this handy appliance. Just make sure you’re washing full loads to maximize your energy use.
Which uses more energy: ironing for 1 hour vacuuming for 1 hour?
Answer: Ironing uses 1,100 watts and vacuuming uses 650 watts.
Takeaway: It takes a lot of energy to heat an iron — all the more reason to speedily iron (as if you were going to try to spend more time ironing 🙂 )
Which uses more energy: making a pot of coffee (30 minutes) or washing a load of laundry (1 hour)?
Answer: Making a pot of coffee for 30 minutes uses 750 watts while laundry washing uses 425 watts.
Takeaway: Leaving a coffeepot on for hours takes a lot of energy, so when the last cup has been poured, switch it off.
Image credit: Flickr by smadden