Do you need help evaluating your electric consumption or choosing the perfect generator for your home? Call Crowe Electric to schedule a consultation and receive expert guidance.
If you’re thinking about installing solar panels to make the switch to renewable energy or buying a backup generator to protect your home from power outages, you’ll certainly find yourself asking, “How many watts do I need to power my house?”
As the top-rated electricians in Marshfield, MA, it’s one of the most common questions we receive. And just like every home is different, the answers will vary from one home to another. We’ll cover the details in this post.
How Much Energy Do Homeowners Use Daily in Marshfield, MA, in Watt Hours?
According to Energy Sage, homeowners in Marshfield, MA, use 892 kWh of electricity per month, which totals 10,704 kWh per year. In terms of daily usage, this comes up to around 30 kWh of energy use per day, which is around 30,000 watt-hours.
So, the average homeowner in Marshfield, MA, uses 30,000 watt-hours of electricity each day. With this in mind, you should have an idea of how many watts you need to power your home. You’ll need to ensure any system you choose can deliver 30,000 watt-hours over the course of a day.
However, these are estimates. Your home power requirements in watts may be half the average or even more.
What Factors Determine How Many Watts You Need to Power Your House?
If you’re asking, “How many watts do I need to power my house?” the first thing you should do is to take note of your home’s peculiarities. The wrong calculations can damage your appliances or, worse, cause house fires.
Some of the factors you should consider in determining house power needs include the following:
The Size of the House
A larger house will invariably mean more rooms, more lighting, and more appliances to power.
The Number of Occupants
Homes with more people often consume more energy. More people mean more occupied rooms, which translates to more appliances in use.
The Number and Size of Appliances
Homes with more appliances will consume more electricity. This is especially true for appliances that require a lot of power to run (think air conditioners, heat pumps, refrigerators, furnaces, etc.).
Frequency of Appliance Usage
Having all of those appliances is one thing; the number of hours they are actually in use per day is another.
Heating and Cooling Needs
Heating and cooling systems consume the most energy in a home. You’ll need yours in Marshfield, MA, where winter temperatures hit the low 20s and the summer temperatures hover around 80 degrees.
Level of Insulation
Proper insulation can reduce how much energy you spend on keeping your home comfortable throughout the day.
Calculating Residential Electricity Usage in Watts
To calculate house power consumption, you need to know the starting and running watts of all your appliances.
To work out an exact figure, calculate the running watts of all the appliances and sum them up. After you arrive at an answer, add the highest number of starting watts among your appliances to get how many watts you need. Here’s a quick example. Let’s assume you have:
- A TV that requires 200 running watts and 0 starting watts
- A furnace that requires 600 starting watts and 0 running watts
- A coffee maker that requires 700 running watts and 0 starting watts
- A refrigerator that requires 1000 running watts and 2,600 starting watts
- An air conditioner that requires 1,200 running watts and 1,800 starting watts
The total running watts in this collection of appliances is 3,100 watts. Add the highest starting watts, which is 2,600, and you’ll arrive at 5,700 watts.
This means you need a system that delivers around 6,000 starting watts and 3,500 running watts to effectively power your house — if these are your only appliances. Armed with these numbers, you can make better decisions when shopping for a renewable or backup energy solution.
Get Expert Guidance on Your Home’s Power Needs in Marshfield, Massachusetts
If you’re asking, “How many watts do I need to power my house?” you’ll agree that arriving at a number is not always easy, even with the guidance above. The surest way to get accurate, personalized results is to hire professionals for an evaluation.
That’s what we offer here at Crowe Electric. Our experienced crew can carefully evaluate the wattage for home electricity and provide the perfect recommendations for a seamless experience.
Call the Crowe Electric team today at 781-678-8266 to schedule an appointment.
Further reading: Causes of a high electricity bill.
