Top 5 Electronic Devices That Use the Most Electricity in the Home

By Mitch Rice

Think about all the things in your household that use power. Whether it’s the coffee machine, ceiling fan, phone charger, or toaster oven, all of these appliances add up when it comes to your electric usage.

Even though there are lots of different energy consumers in your home, not all appliances use energy equally. So how do you know which ones are responsible for higher energy costs?

We’ve put together the top five electronic device examples that tend to use the most power.

Heating and Cooling

It’s estimated that heating and cooling your home makes up about 30% of energy usage, making it the biggest cost each month.

Keeping your house comfortable in the cold and hot seasons is important, but there are a couple of things you can do to keep your energy use in check. Avoid setting the air conditioning or heat on full-blast, and only use heating and cooling when you’re actually at home, if possible.

Water Heating

It takes energy to heat up the water for a hot shower or to wash the dishes. Water heating accounts for roughly 13% of a power bill.

There are simple ways to address this, like taking short showers instead of baths or using the dishwasher to clean dishes instead of hand-washing them. Using less water will help you save money while also helping the environment.

Refrigerator

Old refrigerators tend to use more energy than newer models, so if your fridge is on the older side, it might be time to upgrade for the sake of your electricity bill.

Powering the refrigerator makes up about 6% of your energy usage, but there are easy tricks to help reduce this. Avoid filling the fridge to the brim so it doesn’t have to work as hard to keep food cold, and try to keep it set to the specific model’s recommended temperature.

And, of course, don’t keep that fridge door open for too long!

Washer and Dryer

While washing and drying clothes used to make up roughly 5% of an energy bill, that percentage has gone down a little over the past couple of years.

Still, this is a category that makes positive energy change easy. Doing things like waiting until a load is full before washing it, using cold water instead of hot, and hang-drying clothing when possible will all help reduce your electricity usage.

Lighting

Making up about 4% of electricity usage, lights are one of the main things people think of when they think about reducing energy consumption.

Turning off lights that aren’t in use is an obvious way to save on electricity, but switching to LED lightbulbs that use less energy and don’t give off heat is another great option. You can even contact a residential solar company to install solar panels on your home, taking advantage of that natural light to reduce the costs of artificial lights.

Thinking of More Electronic Device Examples? 

There are still many other electronic device examples that use up energy, but there are lots of ways to help reduce their impact.

Unplug chargers when they’re not in use, turn the television off, or reduce your computer screen’s brightness to help save a little energy. All of these small steps can make a huge difference.

Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for real life purposes.