Now that you know the number of kilowatt hours an appliance uses, go to your rate schedule and your electric bill to see what the average kwh costs. Find the average cost of 1 kwh by dividing the amount of your bill by the total number of kwh used in a month.
Example: 410 kwh used.
$14.35 total monthly bill
Average cost per kwh equals $14.35 divided by 410 kwh-3-1/2 cents per kwh.
Therefore, the cost of operating the coffee maker for a month would be 3-1/2 cents times 7.25 kwh—25.4 or 25 cents. Cost of operating the yard light would have been 94.5 or 95 cents a month.
(a) 6357 nbsp; (b) 1963 (c) 8996
Correct answers to the meter readings shown on the preceding page.
Adding Low Cost Helpers
You can see, by looking at your rate schedule, that the average cost per kwh gets lower as you use more electricity. To find the cost of operating additional electrical equipment, the cost per kilowatt hour is found from the last "step" in the bill—the lowest cost per kwh of the electricity you're now using. Sometimes power suppliers give special rates for such equipment as electric water heaters.
WHAT TO DO: Find the Cost of Operating Electrical Equipment
Make and fill in the blanks of a chart showing the electrical equipment you have and the operating costs per month.
Make a chart for the home (refer to chart one). Show the probable operating cost of equipment you might add to what you now have.