A kilowatthour (kWh) is a unit of energy used by an electrical device during a given period. For example, 1 kWh could be 1,000 watts used over 1 hour or 10 watts used over 100 hours. Kilowatthours are used
to measure your electricity use (or consumption) and calculate your electricity bill.
But what does that mean in everyday life?
40 minutes
40
minutes
A woman uses a hair dryer for 40 minutes, which consumes 1 kWh.
1,500-W hair dryer used for 40 minutes = 1 kWh
17 bags of popcorn
40
minutes
A man makes 17 bags of popcorn in the microwave, which consumes 1 kWh.
1,200-W microwave oven used for 51 minutes (3 minutes per bag) = 1 kWh
60 slices of toast
40
minutes
A little girl makes 60 slices of toast in a two-slice toaster, which consumes 1 kWh.
800-W toaster with two slots used 30 times = 1 kWh
9 hours of movies
40
minutes
A family watches 9 hours’ worth of movies on an LCD TV using a Blu-ray player for a grand total of 103 W, which consumes 1 kWh.
Blu-ray disc player and 42-inche LCD television totalling 103 W used for just over 9 hours = 1 kWh
100 hours
40
minutes
A woman reads a book in bed with her lamp on for 100 hours, which consumes 1 kWh.
10-W LED bulb used for 100 hours = 1 kWh
6 hours of gaming
40
minutes
Two children play a video game on a game console for 6 hours, which consumes 1 kWh.
Game console and 42-inch LCD TV totalling 173 W used for just under 6 hours = 1 kWh
20 hours
40
minutes
A woman lounging in a chair uses a fan to keep cool for 20 hours, which consumes 1 kWh.
10-W LED bulb used for 100 hours = 1 kWh
But what’s a watt?
It’s the unit of measure of the power, or wattage, of a device. Every device draws a certain amount of power. The more powerful the device, the greater the wattage, and so the more kilowatthours it uses to operate over a given
period of time.
