Mini Energy Audit

This mini-energy audit was conducted on residential apartments. To identify the cost-cutting measures that may be implemented to lower the wastage of energy and the cost, it is essential to carry out an energy audit and reduce the environmental impact of energy consumption by reducing greenhouse emissions. In this case, a home energy audit or energy assessment is carried out to establish the following (Energy Star, 2018): First, establish the amount of energy used in the home. Second, determine the channels through which power is lost in the home. Third, determine the problem areas that should be prioritized for fixing to improve energy use efficiency and make the house more comfortable (US Department of Energy, 2018). Conducting a mini-energy for my apartment building identifies the significant consumers of energy in the place, a careful analysis of the data on the energy ratings of the appliances, and the following number of hours used per day. The rationale behind using 24 hours as the baseline period is that the same results may be replicated for the rest of the year with heating and cooling additions during extreme weather periods in the winter and summer.

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Assumptions made in the mini energy audit

The scope of the work is limited to energy use for electricity, the only energy source in the house.
Any data obtained in the calculations for kWh ratings for the appliances consuming energy may be compared with the actual energy consumption and utilization at the electricity meter.
The greenhouse emissions equivalent to the energy consumed in the house are beyond the scope of the audit as this falls in the external energy source. Only an estimate can be achieved using online tools that measure the number of greenhouse emissions for the energy utilized in the house.
Lastly, the data on the total amount of energy for a single day’s use in the house can be replicated for the entire year by assuming that the energy consumed in a given season for the seasonal appliances utilizing power in the home is constant.

Conducting the energy audit

A walk-through of the facility was undertaken to carry out an energy utilization assessment in the house. This identified the main energy consumers as heating and lighting, with auxiliary energy use in computers, phones, televisions, and other minor electricity consumers comprising only a small percentage of the total energy use. The following data were obtained on the energy consumption in the house:

S/No	Utility	Quantity	Rating (Watts)	Hours of operation in a day	Energy consumed (kWh)
1	Fluorescent tubes	3	36	24	0.864
2	42” Samsung Television	1	79	12	0.948
3	Electric cooker	1	1200	0.5	0.6
4	Laptop	1	60	8	0.48
5	Coffee maker	1	800	0.1	0.08
6	fridge	1	100	24	2.4
7	Cooker head	1	120		0.08
8	shower		7500	0.5	3.75
9	bulbs	2	18	6	0.288
10	HVAC	1	13.4	24	0.321
11	Microwave	1	85	1	0.085
Total 9.896kWh

The ratings for the appliances are calculated based on the following (number of hours they are operational in a day*wattage)/( 1000). This gives the daily estimate of the electricity used in the house. The electricity supply company obtains its power from diverse sources, including renewable sources such as hydroelectricity and solar energy. The obtained value of kWh of electricity consumed in a month is 9.896 kWh, which is lower than the actual bill for the previous month, which was 13.4kWh. Adjusting the estimated value of energy consumed to within the +/-10% of the estimated energy use in the house to cover for fluctuations in energy use, the total energy consumed should fall within a high of 10.886 kWh. The source of the discrepancy between the actual and estimated energy consumption is the margin that should be reduced or eliminated. The following observations can allude to the behavior of my use of energy in the house that may have resulted in this discrepancy in energy consumption.

First, there are those devices that consume energy even when they are turned off. These are called standby loads and continue to draw minimal electricity even when switched off but still plugged into the supply (Huffstetler, 2018). These items keep the clocks going when connected to the supply, accounting for up to 10% of the total electricity bills. Huffstetler (2018) puts the estimates for the standby power consumption for appliances in the household that the following power amounts

Appliances	Amount of power( Watts)
Television	45
Laptop computer	55
DSL model	8
Surge protector	6
DVR	30

Other standby power consumers are electric cookers, microwaves, coffeemakers, and all devices with clocks, remote controls, and standby indicator lights.

The knowledge gap on these unnecessary electricity consumers is the highest-ranked cause of excess monthly bills (Douglas-Gabriel, 2018). The power bill will likely reduce significantly by eliminating the standby power consumption. This ignorance calls for the education of the consumers on ways to reduce the wastage of energy in households, as it is expected that even in other families, the same problem persists.

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References

Douglas-Gabriel, D. (2018, February 2). Home energy audit: The best money I’ve ever spent. The Washington Post, pp. 1-4.

Energy Star. (2018, January 12). Home Energy audit. Retrieved from Energy Star: https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_audits

Huffstetler, E. (2018, July 28). Learn How Much a Phantom Load Is Costing You. The Spruce, pp. 1-3.

US Department of Energy. (2018, September 19). Heat and Cool energy saving. Retrieved from Energy saver: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-and-cool

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Question

Mini-Energy Audit

In this assignment, I will undertake an energy audit for my residential apartment. This is a utility whose energy is metered individually as it is part of other residential buildings housing other tenants. The reason for choosing my residence is to help me establish my energy consumption patterns and decipher ways to reduce the cost of energy in my home.

Mini Energy Audit

The data obtained will be carefully analyzed and compared with historical data from the previous electricity bills. The assumption made in this audit encompasses an estimation that the data obtained on the amount of energy consumed in a day in a day can be replicated in the entire month to calculate the total energy consumed in a month.

The baseline for energy utilization

S/NO

UTILITY

QTY

RATING (WATTS)

OPERATION HOURS DAILY

ENERGY USED (KWH)

1	FLUORESCENT TUBES	3	36	24	0.864
2	42” TELEVISION	1	79	12	0.948
3	ELECTRIC COOKER	1	1200	0.5	0.6
4	LAPTOP	1	60	8	0.48
5	COFFEE MAKER	1	800	0.1	0.08
6	FRIDGE	1	100	24	2.4
7	COOKER HEAD	1	120		0.08
	SHOWER		7500	0.5	3.75
9	BULBS	2	18	6	0.288
TOTAL 9.49KWH