FalconFour
Well-known member
I just came up with this on Facebook - every word and every calculation. Thought I should share so it'll last a little longer on the internet.
What is 1W (1 watt)?
1 watt is a tiny LED nightlight. 1 watt is the indicator light on the front of a power strip. 1 watt of power, all hours around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, would cost you 8.87 kWh ($1.24) a year on your power bill, or 0.7 kWh ($0.10) per month. So don't bother unplugging those cell phones chargers. Seriously.
What is 10W?
A tablet PC, charging (not full - they use much less when full and still plugged in). Your cable box. An old digital alarm clock. Your cable modem and router. 10 watts around the clock costs you 87.7 kWh ($12.28) a year on your power bill... or 7.3 kWh ($1.02) per month.
What is 100W?
One bright incandescent bulb (100W bulb). A modern desktop PC and monitor - both running. Your TV. A high-end laptop, charging (not full). A standard-sized refrigerator or freezer. About the amount of power as a weed whacker. 100 watts around the clock costs you 876.6 kWh ($122.72) a year... or 73.05 kWh ($10.23) a month...
What is 1kW (1 kilowatt, or 1,000W)? (Note: NOT "kWh")
A fan-heater. A coffee pot. Anything in the kitchen that makes heat. The limit of a 120v outlet is 1,800 watts. A clothes dryer uses around 3,000 to 4,000 watts while it's running. 1 kilowatt - rarely used in any case longer than a few minutes except in a clothes dryer. It's also about as much power as a lawn mower engine. 1kW around the clock would cost you 8765.8 kWh ($1,227.21) a year... or... 730.5 kWh ($102.27) a month.
How about 10kW (10 kilowatts, or 10,000W)?
Nothing in your house. I mean, except some very rare things... nothing uses 10kW for very long. House wiring isn't even rated for that, anywhere but the service line to your power meter. That's... well, we're getting close to that with some EV chargers like the Tesla Model S - and that's only for a few hours, not near around the clock. The Prius electric motor, I believe, is around 10kW, at least the total between the two electric motors. I'd imagine some commercial roof-top air conditioners would use 10kW or more. Now, if this were around the clock... that'd be 87658.1 kWh ($12,272.14) a year. Or 7304.8 kWh ($1,022.68) a month. Ouch. Or do you have a 10kW solar system on your home? Whenever there are daylight hours - about 50% of the time on average - imagine half that is now money you made from 10kW.
Good god. What about 100kW (100 kilowatts, or 100,000W)?
Yeah, that's the motor in the Nissan LEAF at full throttle, 90kW. About as much power as a car engine revved up. The power that drives large water pumps, heating and cooling systems, etc. Cost and consumption at this level goes on to the "grid thinking" scale - think of whole city blocks and a steady load. Ready for this? That level of consumption is about 876581.3 kWh per year, costing $122,721.38 at $0.14/kWh.
And we've reached the peak. Right? What about 1MW (1 megawatt, 1,000 kilowatts, or... yep, 1,000,000 watts)?
About 0.0047% of the current energy demand of California (22 GW).
Scale.
What is 1W (1 watt)?
1 watt is a tiny LED nightlight. 1 watt is the indicator light on the front of a power strip. 1 watt of power, all hours around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, would cost you 8.87 kWh ($1.24) a year on your power bill, or 0.7 kWh ($0.10) per month. So don't bother unplugging those cell phones chargers. Seriously.
What is 10W?
A tablet PC, charging (not full - they use much less when full and still plugged in). Your cable box. An old digital alarm clock. Your cable modem and router. 10 watts around the clock costs you 87.7 kWh ($12.28) a year on your power bill... or 7.3 kWh ($1.02) per month.
What is 100W?
One bright incandescent bulb (100W bulb). A modern desktop PC and monitor - both running. Your TV. A high-end laptop, charging (not full). A standard-sized refrigerator or freezer. About the amount of power as a weed whacker. 100 watts around the clock costs you 876.6 kWh ($122.72) a year... or 73.05 kWh ($10.23) a month...
What is 1kW (1 kilowatt, or 1,000W)? (Note: NOT "kWh")
A fan-heater. A coffee pot. Anything in the kitchen that makes heat. The limit of a 120v outlet is 1,800 watts. A clothes dryer uses around 3,000 to 4,000 watts while it's running. 1 kilowatt - rarely used in any case longer than a few minutes except in a clothes dryer. It's also about as much power as a lawn mower engine. 1kW around the clock would cost you 8765.8 kWh ($1,227.21) a year... or... 730.5 kWh ($102.27) a month.
How about 10kW (10 kilowatts, or 10,000W)?
Nothing in your house. I mean, except some very rare things... nothing uses 10kW for very long. House wiring isn't even rated for that, anywhere but the service line to your power meter. That's... well, we're getting close to that with some EV chargers like the Tesla Model S - and that's only for a few hours, not near around the clock. The Prius electric motor, I believe, is around 10kW, at least the total between the two electric motors. I'd imagine some commercial roof-top air conditioners would use 10kW or more. Now, if this were around the clock... that'd be 87658.1 kWh ($12,272.14) a year. Or 7304.8 kWh ($1,022.68) a month. Ouch. Or do you have a 10kW solar system on your home? Whenever there are daylight hours - about 50% of the time on average - imagine half that is now money you made from 10kW.
Good god. What about 100kW (100 kilowatts, or 100,000W)?
Yeah, that's the motor in the Nissan LEAF at full throttle, 90kW. About as much power as a car engine revved up. The power that drives large water pumps, heating and cooling systems, etc. Cost and consumption at this level goes on to the "grid thinking" scale - think of whole city blocks and a steady load. Ready for this? That level of consumption is about 876581.3 kWh per year, costing $122,721.38 at $0.14/kWh.
And we've reached the peak. Right? What about 1MW (1 megawatt, 1,000 kilowatts, or... yep, 1,000,000 watts)?
About 0.0047% of the current energy demand of California (22 GW).
Scale.