Appliances: cost to operate

Cost of operating appliances

The amount of electricity you use in your home is related to family size and living habits.

The residential cost of one kilowatt-hour (kwh) for Clark Public Utilities customers is 7.36 cents. It's easy to figure out the hourly cost of running an appliance. Find the wattage (usually on the side or bottom) of the tool or appliance and then use this formula:

Appliance wattage divided by 1,000 watts, multiplied by the time the appliance is "on," multiplied by 7.36 cents.

Example: 1200 watts/1000 watts=1.2 (kw) x 1 (hour) x $.0736 = $.09 per operating hour

Don't forget that some products such as irons, griddles, water heaters and electric space heaters are controlled with a thermostat and cycle on and off during operation.

Some electrical devices, like computers and tools, may show the amperage of the device instead of watts. To convert to watts, multiply amps by volts. The voltage of household outlets is 115 volts.