Water features are a great way to add elegance and tranquility to any outdoor living space. Whether you have a small balcony garden or a sprawling backyard, a water feature can be a beautiful addition to your landscape. However, it’s important to consider the energy consumption and costs associated with using such an appliance.
How To Use This Calculator
Using this energy calculator is a simple and will help you determine the costs of running your appliance. Click on ‘Calculate’ to use the predefined values, or enter your daily usage in hours, appliance watts, and your current energy costs in dollars. The calculator will provide you with the daily, monthly, and yearly results. It’s important to ensure the accuracy of the information entered to get the most accurate results.
Hours Used Per Day
Enter the number of hours you estimate the appliance will be on throughout the day. To use fractions of an hour please use a decimal point in the form.
For example: 1 hour and 30 mintes would be 1.5, and 3 hours and 15 minutes would be 3.25
Power Used in Watts
The calculator already includes a default average wattage. If your appliance uses a different wattage then enter it in the calculator.
Your Energy Rate in kWh
The calculator includes an average energy rate (price in $/kWh) to use for the calculation. This may not be the exact price that you’re currently paying for electricity. If you know your energy rate please enter your price per kilowatt-hour.
Energy Consumption
A water feature typically uses a small electric motor to circulate water. This motor is rated in watts, which is a measurement of the amount of energy used per second. The amount of energy used by a water feature can vary depending on the size and complexity of the appliance. However, for this article, we will assume a standard water feature uses 35 watts.
This may not seem like much, but over time the energy usage can really add up. For example, if you run your water feature for 8 hours a day, that’s 280 watt-hours per day or 102,200 watt-hours per year. It may seem small, but every little bit of energy savings counts in the long run.
Importance and Relevance
With the rise in energy costs and concerns over the environment, it’s important to be aware of the energy consumption of our appliances. By being aware of the impact that water features (and other appliances) have on our wallets and the environment, we can make more informed decisions about energy usage.
Cost in Dollars of Energy Usage
To calculate the cost of energy usage for your water feature, use the following formula:
Energy Used (in kWh) = Power Used (in watts) x Time (in hours) / 1000To determine the daily cost of operating your water feature, multiply the energy used (in kWh) by the cost per kilowatt-hour. For example, if the cost of energy is $0.12/kWh, and you run your water feature for 8 hours a day, the daily cost would be:
Daily Cost = 0.2808 kWh x $0.12/kWh = $0.034
To determine the monthly or yearly cost, simply multiply the daily cost by the number of days in the month or year.
Money Saving Tips
- Use a timer to control the operating hours of your water feature. By limiting the amount of time it runs, you can significantly reduce your energy usage and costs.
- Savings Example: If you reduce the operating time from 8 hours to 4 hours per day, you can cut your daily cost from $0.034 to $0.017.
- Clean your water feature regularly. A dirty filter or pump can make your water feature work harder
