Sean Pearce
Columns
August 23, 2008 10:21 PM
Sean Pearce
Environmentalists tell us appliances such as refrigerators, stoves, air conditioners and clothes dryers guzzle the most energy, but I cannot find any information on how lightbulbs compare to these items. Also are there any other factors besides the amount of energy used that accounts for the recent increase on hydro bills?
I contacted John Sherin, co-ordinator of PowerStream’s conservation and demand management program.
As it turns out, the truth behind electricity consumption can be shockingly complicated in some cases.
Heating and cooling accounts for about 50 per cent of the average household’s electricity bill, Mr. Sherin said. Lighting is responsible for about 10 to 15 per cent of the monthly cost, depending on what you have for exterior or interior lighting.
Depending on how many fridges or freezers a home has, those appliances can make up as little as 5 per cent of a home’s hydro bill to as much as 20 per cent, depending on how efficient they are.
The average home uses about 9,000 kilowatt hours per year, Mr. Sherin said. At an average rate of about 10 cents per kilowatt hour, that equals $900.
In terms of how lightbulbs compare, it can be a little like comparing apples to oranges, Mr. Sherin said.
Many of the aforementioned appliances run on a constant cycle, whereas lights are turned on periodically for varying durations. Every household’s energy use is different, he said.
“Some families of five use the same amount of energy as a two-person household, so it really depends ... An electric water heater could be as much as 15 per cent of the hydro bill, but also much higher if you have a couple of teenagers at home taking hot showers all of the time.”
A tool to check out where one can compare the consumption of electric appliances and devices is available online at powerwise.ca/resources/powerwise-calculator.
As to your query about what makes up a hydro bill and what else affects cost, there are several factors at play. In most places, the cost per kWh is set at five cents for the first 600 and then 5.9 cents for any kWhs on top of that. The higher the kWhs, the more you pay.
Apart from good-old-fashioned electricity use, there is often an adjustment made to the customer’s usage accounting for electricity consumed or expended as heat during its travel from the power generating/transformer station to your home.
And, in addition to usage, we pay a delivery charge, which typically accounts for the cost of administering the customer’s account, reading the meter, maintaining infrastructure and other essentials.
On top of that, there are regulatory charges, which cover the cost of administering the wholesale electricity system and maintaining the grid’s reliability.
Finally, there is the a $0.007 per kWh charge for something called debt retirement, a provincially mandated tax meant to pay down the debt of what was, up until 1999, Ontario Hydro.
PowerStream spokesperson Eric Fagen explained the cost of electricity in Ontario is also influenced by supply and demand.
The type of generation technology can also be a factor, as some technologies, such as nuclear, are pricier than others.
Take care, for now, and, remember, you asked for it.
spearce@yrmg.com