How to Calculate the Energy Your Gadgets Consume (I)

Do you know how much energy your gadgets( fans, fridges, water pumps, e.t.c.) consume?In deciding the source of power (Local or Solar) you want use, this is very vital.You can actually calculate this with a method called – System Sizing.

System or hardware sizing is a technique for assessing the energy needs of our appliances  so as to determine the appropriate Solar Home system you would require to provide them.

How do you measure the Energy needs of your Gadgets?

The first step to sizing your system starts with what loads or devices you want your solar system to run. It is important to get the wattage of each item you are planning to run along with how long you plan on running them for. You will multiply the watts by the hours to get Watt-Hours.

Watts:

The Power required to run a device is measured in watts.For example if you purchase a fan,it will have a rating in watts to show the amount of energy that has to be generated and consumed to run the fan.

Kilowatt Hours:

A kilowatt hour (KwH ) is a measure of the energy you use. For example, a 100-watt fan would use 1kw of energy in 10 hours.

Why is this important?

In order to know the system size you require, it is important to know how much energy all your household devices consume daily.

Stated below are the average wattage of key household appliances: