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  • Energy usage and cost
Topics:  Energy usage, energy cost, power, circuits, appliances, efficiency, energy conservation.

Pre-requisite skills:  None.

Approximate completion time:  Under an hour.

Provide sufficient detail to verify that the assignment was completed in a meaningful manner.

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Shockwave simulation by The Article 19 Group
1.  For a typical day, keep a diary entry of your energy usage.  (What appliances/utilities were used, and for how long).    Using the above applet, calculate the total energy usage and cost for this day.  (Don't forget to include those appliances/utilities that always remain on.)

 

2. Using your result, how much on average should your monthly electricity bill be?

3.  If you have access to a monthly electric bill, calculate the percent error between your predictions and the actual result

 

4.  Suppose you wanted to cut down on your electricity usage by 15%.

(a)  In what way could you alter your energy usage to reach that goal?

(b) How much money would that save each month?   How much over the span of a year?

(b) Which appliance was the biggest user of electricity throughout the day.

Helpful Resources

  1. The Shocking Truth About Electricity by ThinkQuest.
  2. Energy Cost and Appliance Usage by Sean Russell.
  3. Shockwave Tutorial on Circuits by Michael Davidson.
  4. Shockwave Tutorial on Electrical Circuits by Michael Davidson
  5. P10D - Electricity and Magnetism by Janak Sodha

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