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How much do you know about power usage in the home? Take our 10-question QUIZ and find out !

 

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Written, late – 2022

(Scroll below if you want to go straight to the quiz though the short written section is interesting reading too.

I recently watched the documentary “Planet of the Humans” (Michael Moore was an Executive Producer). It was shocking and prompted me to look further into our addiction of power usage. You MUST watch “Planet of the Humans”- it’s compelling and very well done. (I watched it for free on youtube).

I think one of the things that really stood out for me is that renewable energy is not as “renewable” or “green-friendly” as we are led to believe. The recent focus on renewable energy is designed by energy companies and governments to encourage us to continue consuming more and more. If we feel less guilt about our energy usage (which is increasing more and more every year) we will all continue to consume more, which grows our economy and keeps the cogs turning (so to speak). Instead of us looking for new ways to live (or simply just going back to the old ways) and understanding that there is a finite amount of energy in this world to go around, governments and energy companies are now focussing on renewables to give us the feeling that using more and more is okay.

The thing that most of us are failing to consider is that the elaborate systems being created to harness renewable energy are using huge amounts or coal, metals and minerals to set them up. And all these products have a shelf-life too. The structures themselves don’t last forever. Solar panels lose efficiency with age (and many are not that efficient in the first place). Over time they all need to be replaced and all need maintenance over the years. Then there are the structures needed to move the energy to where it’s needed. These structures all need raw materials (eg. metals, timber). At the end of the day no process for harnessing energy for human consumption is truly “renewable”.

In 2022, 70% of Australia’s power was still being derived by coal and natural gas. We all must develop more awareness and become conscious of our energy usage instead of plugging into a power point and not having any real understanding of what happened prior to getting that power to us.

Doing this quiz will do your bit to lower your power usage but will LOWER YOUR POWER BILL too!) Scroll down below for the answers … don’t cheat!

Question 1.  How much of the average consumption of power in the Australian home is used by air conditioning / heating? 

A) about 20%     B) about 30%     C) about 40%     D) about 50%   (Source- auspost.com.au – 2022)

Question 2.   How many times more power does ducted air-conditioning use compared to a ceiling fan?

A) about 25 times more     B) about 50 times more     C) about 65 times more     D) about 80 times more   (Source- mozo.com.au – 2021)

Question 3.     How much of the average consumption of power in the Australian home is used by hot water?

A) about 10%     B) about 12.5%     C) about 17.5%     D) about 25%   (Source- auspost.com.au – 2022)

Question 4.     How much of the average consumption of power in the Australian home is used by the fridge?

A) about 5%     B) about 7.5%     C) about 10%     D) about 13%     (Source- news.com.au – 2022)

Question 5.     How much does it cost to run the dishwasher per cycle?

A) about 48.5c / cycle     B) about 78.5c / cycle     C) about 93c / cycle     D) about $1.48c / cycle     (Source- mozo.com.au – 2021)

Another thing to consider here is that if you’re washing up periodically during the day (eg. you’re in a share-house etc), by hand-washing the hot water is being turned on and off multiple times; this uses significant power every time. And on a different note, washing dishes can be therapeutic- it is an opportunity to stop, use your hands to do something that has to be achieved (washing dishes can actually be satisfying- it’s the way you look at it and live. It’s normally only a chore when you don’t really have the time to do it!)

Question 6.     How much more does it cost to run an electric oven compared to a large electric hotplate?

A) about 5% more     B) about 7.5% more     C) about 15% more     D) it doesn’t cost more for the oven, it costs less   (Source- mozo.com.au – 2021)

Another thing to consider here is that you will normally run an oven for longer than a hotplate. An oven is often used for 25 minutes or more. A hotplate, normally 10 – 15 minutes.

Question 7.     How many times more energy can a warm wash use in an washing machine compared to a cold wash cycle?

A) about 3 times more     B) about 5 times more     C) about 10 times more     D) about 12.5 times more

Be aware that many washing machines have a default to choose warm water automatically! (And I  question why this is ? Nearly all of these devices are not made in Australia.)

Question 8.     How much more does it cost to run a gas oven for an hour compared with a microwave?

A) about twice as much    B) about 2.5 times more     C) about 3.5 times more    D) about 5 times more

(Source- canstarblue.com.au)

Be aware though that microwave energy can zap the “life-energy” from your foods (because it’s not actually transferring heat energy per se into your food).

Question 9.     On average, how much more energy does it take to run a load of washing through a clothes dryer as opposed to a washing machine? 

A) about 50% more   B) about twice as much    C) 2.5 times more    D) about 3.6 times more    (Source- canstarblue.com.au)

Another thing to consider here is that hanging out washing to dry has much less impact on your clothes compared with putting them through a dryer. Plus, the sun’s UV rays will disinfect your damp laundry and some people find hanging out their clothes a good opportunity to get outside, stop and enjoy part of a nice sunny day (whilst doing something constructive).

Question 10.     In a busy family home about what percentage of the power bill is spent on items in STANDBY MODE when they’re not actually being used?

A) about 1%    B) about 1.5%    C) about 2.5%    D) about 10%    (Source- canstarblue.com.au)

 

Answers.

C) about 40% of Australian household electricity is used on air-conditioning

D) ducted air-con uses about 80 times more electricity than a ceiling fan

D) about 25% of Australian household electricity is used on hot water

D) about 13% of Australian household electricity is used on our fridges

A) about 48.5c / cycle to run the dishwasher once (DOES not include the cost of water!)

D) it doesn’t cost more for the oven, it actually costs less compared to a large electric hotplate

C) about 10 times more energy is used if you select the WARM cycle on your washing machine, I ALWAYS use cold water

A) about twice as much to run the gas oven compared to a microwave (and a microwave cooks food WAAAYYY faster than any oven)

B) it costs 2.5 times more to run the dryer compared to a washing machine (I have never used a clothes dryer in my life)

D) about 10% is wasted on appliances switched on and in Stand-By mode

Researching for this quiz definitely prompted me to look more closely into my power usage and make some changes. Hope it did the same for you!

under 4 correct answers- you don’t know much about power usage in the home

5 correct answers- you need to know more about power usage in the home

6 correct answers- you did okay

7 correct answers- Impressive!

8 correct answers or above- A star student. Put a gold star on your forehead for the day!

2211

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