Ok Really Really Dumb Question

[shauns ke30]

if I'm at home and i leve a light on for 24 hours how much does it cost??

and if i flick it on and off 20 million times in 24 hours will it cost more??

[Hiro Protagonist]

To answer the first question, electricity is billed in kilowatt-hours. Wattage is an instantaneous power consumption figure, so you multiply by time to get total consumption. So something that needs 1W to run will use 1WHr. Thus, your average 60W globe running 24/7 will use 1440WHrs (60X24), or 1.44kWHrs. Now the price is dependent on where you live, and the time of day (peak/off-peak etc), with a rough guess of maybe 15c/kWHr peak and 8c/kWHr off-peak (which is why off-peak storage water heaters are better than instant on-demand ones). So taking an average price of 12c/kWHr (half peak, half off-peak) your light globe will cost you about 17c a day.

 

To answer the second question, the amount of extra electricity used and the costs associated will probably be insignificant in comparison to the cost of buying more light globes as their life is significantly shortened if you repeatedly flick them on and off. There _will_ be an increase in electricity consumption, though.

 

Or is the 20-million times an exaggeration?

Edited March 18, 2010 by Hiro Protagonist

[shauns ke30]

LOL so your telling me that every time i leve a light on and my mum cracks it at me ill just chuck her a 50c coin :wub:

 

20 millions times hehe it was an exaggeration you'll probly get an eletric shock the first 5,000 time from the switch giveing way

cheers thanks's heaps

Edited March 18, 2010 by shauns ke30

[JiP]

I don't see it going down well if every time your mum yells at you, you throw a 50c coin at her.

[philbey]

Given that incandescent globes are on the way out, you'll be flicking your energy saving fluro on and off. They're generally 15W globes, so it'll be about 4 cents a day.

 

BUT - Fluro globes consume more power on startup and then scale back power use once they're running, so you could actually use more power turning it on and off. But I don't know exactly how much the difference is, it is significant though.

Fluro tubes are different (fragile lightsabery things), they have the starter built into the light fitting, and older ones aren't that energy efficient. Bayonet type fluros will have an efficient starter built into them.

[irokin]

The break even times for the common types household bulbs are less than a second. Yes it is always better for energy consumption to turn off the light even if your only leaving the room for a few seconds. It may not be economical for the bulbs though. Incandescent bulbs don't care about being switched on and off much, CFLs and fluros care about it a fair bit more comparatively.

[B.L.Z.BUB]

Do all the math you want. Mum = right.

[white_sandshoe]

Do all the math you want. Mum = right.

 

 

yeah, trust me on this... the above equasion is all you need to know.

[archangel62]

LOL

 

That's the first thing you should draw from this thread. But your 50 cents thing - hey, make it five cents. Might not go down well but it'll be f*** funny. Just don't get kicked out. Trust me, life's easier at home lol

[B.L.Z.BUB]

Too true. It took me 8 months and a lot of putting up with bitching from the missus to get my rolla on the road. Just turn the lights OFF!!! :)