PROCEDURE:
Using the attached list, check off the appliances you and your family use. List any others not included. (Check for wattage printed on the UNPLUGGED appliance).
Estimate your hours of usage and find the total consumption per day. Find out the cost and source (oil, coal, gas, hydroelectric, nuclear) of energy from your local utility company, and add up your average daily energy cost.
Consider ways of reducing energy usage, such as by turning lights off everytime you leave a room. Estimate the hours of appliance usage saved and calculate the energy efficient total consumption cost per day.
Compare the new list with the original:
1. What are the environmental costs per kilowatt hour consumed?
2. What are the sources of energy? (i.e. solar, nuclear, coal)
3. Where does the waste from energy generation go? (i.e. ash, nuclear waste)