Monday, May 18, 2009

Where does all the juice go?

As part of a Renewable Energy Technology course through the University of Calgary, I was fortunate to be assigned the task of completing an in-home energy audit. I picked up a cool little digital energy meter from Canadian Tire and went to town.

My most noteworthy findings...
  • The light fixture in our bathroom with the two 150 Watt halogen bulbs is responsible for more than 8% of our monthly electricity consumption.
  • My 12 year-old JVC stereo system (not one, but two cassette players) steadily consumes 20 Watts of electricity... when it's off!
  • Reminding my pregnant wife that the ceiling fan in the bathroom draws 45 Watts does not help to start her day on a positive note.
Here's the full breakdown of where the juice goes in our condo. If a fancy pie chart like this doesn't land me a good grade on my assignment, I don't know what will.