facilitation guide: justice in my home electric bills how...

FacilitationGuide:JusticeinMyHomeElectricBills

CopyrightCenterforEarth,EnergyandDemocracy(CEED)2016CreditCEEDiffacilitationguideused-www.ceed.org

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HowMuchamIPayingforMyElectricity?ThisfacilitationguideispartofCEED’sEnergyJusticeToolkitwhichcanbefoundatwww.ceed.org/tools.IfyouarebasednearCEED’soffice,pickupaPowerPackwithallthesupplies!Ifyouarefurtheraway,manyofthematerialscanbeeasilypurchasedfromyourlocalhardwarestore.Questions?ContactCEEDat612-259-7371orinfo@ceed.org.Materials(includedinCEEDPowerPack)FacilitationSteps:FocusonthefacilitationquestionsinBOLD.Otheritemsareideasformovingthegrouptowardthediscussion,verballyandvisually.

1) Howdoyouuseenergyinyourhomethroughouttheday?[inthemorning,afternoon,evening,night][Justdiscussoryoucandraworwriteappliancesonasheetonthewalloronatable]

2) Whoisyourelectriccompanyandhowdotheyknowhowmuchelectricityyouuse?

• Wheneverwegotothemarket,weknowexactlyhowmuchagallonofmilkcostsus.• Sincewearepurchasingelectricityeverytimeweturnonalightoranappliance,butwedon’t

knowhowmuchelectricityiscostinguseachtimeweturnonthelightoranappliance.That’swhatwe’regoingtofigureouttoday!

3) Let’stakealookatourhomeelectricbill[Onasheetofpaperonwallortable,writethefollowingforeachfamily/household][Ifyoudon’thaveaccesstoalocalbill,youcanlookuptheaveragecostofresidentialelectricityinyourstateat:http://www.eia.gov/opendata/qb.cfm?category=1012)]



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$ kWh $/kWh

Zitlali Carlos Andy Tiana

• FindtheTOTAL$amountyoupaidthismonthonyourbill.[Writedown]Thisiscalculated

basedonhowmuchyouuse,alongwithtaxesandotherfeesthatarebasedonhowmuchyouuse,andthebasicfeejusttobeconnected.

• FindtheTotalkWhUsageonyourbill.[Writedown].Justlikewebuymilkbythegallon;webuyelectricitybythe“kilowatt-hour”(kWh)

• DividethetotaldollaramountonyourbillbythetotalkWhyouused.[writedownindifferentcolor].Justlikeyoupay$2/gallonformilk,thisishowmuchyoupaid$/kWhforelectricitythatmonth.

4) Howmany“Kilowatthours”areyoubuyingwhenyouuseyourappliances?

• Startwiththehairdryerasagroup.• Passitaround;Askeveryonetofindthe“Watts”onthehairdryer.[writeituponthewallor

sheetofpaper]• UsingtheKill-A-Wattmeter,testtheappliance-Onhi,low,cold,hot,howdoesitchangehow

manyWattsthehairdryerisusing?• Usingoneofthewattnumbers,calculatetheenergycostofthehairdryerperyearasagroup

onthewallorkitchentable.

i. Howlongdoyouuseitinaday?(shouldwesayhalfanhour)?ii. Howmanydaysayear?[calculatetheWATTHOURSthehairdryerusesinayear]iii. Dividebyathousand.[ThisischangingthewatthourstoKILOwatthours]iv. Multiplyitnowbythe$youpayperkilowatthourformyourelectricbill.Thisishow

muchthehairdryercostsyourfamilyperyear.

Hairdryer Lightbulb Appliance Appliance

(#)WATTSusedbyappliance

(x)hoursusedperday

(x)daysusedperyear

WATTHOURSINAYEAR

(/)1000

KILOWATTHOURS (x)electricitycostperkWh

(=)Costofapplianceperyear



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b. HandoutApplianceWorksheetforGroupActivity.Tryitfortheotherappliancesaroundyourhouseorintheroom.Tryitforwhentheapplianceison,whenitsoff.Ideas:refrigerator,coffeepot,cellphonecharger,laptop,lamps,electricdrill,vacuum,etc…NotallofthemwillbeeasytoseewhatWattageis–usethemeterifhardtosee.[Turnsomemusicon.Givepeople10-15minutes.]

c. Comebacktogether.Fillinthecharttogetherbasedonreportouts.Howmucharetheseappliancescostingyoualltogetherfortheyear?

d. Doitforanolder“Incandescent”lightbulb.Howmanylightbulbsdoyouhaveinyourhouse?20?Calculatetotalcostforallthelightbulbs.TalkaboutCFLlightbulbdisposal/breakagesafetyquicklyafter–doesanyoneknowhowtocleanuporgetridofaCFLlightbulbifitbreaks?GooverCFLSafetyInformation.

5) Whatcanyoudotoimpactyourenergybill?

a. DependsontheTechnology(howhightheWattsare)ANDyourBehavior(howlongyouuseit

for).YoucanbuylowerWattappliancesorusesomethingless(turnofthelights).

b. HandoutlistofEnergyHogappliancessheet–thesearetheonesthatarehighWatts.Whichonesdoyouusealot?Manyoftheseareexpensivetopurchaseorourlandlordcontrols,soprogramsandpublicpolicyaretryingtogetinplacesothatourcommunitiescanbegintoaccessthem.

c. HandoutlistofVampireEnergylist–theseareappliancesthatuseenergyevenwhenwedon’tusethem!Theiruseissometimestoosmallevenforametertoread.

i. Whataresomeappliancesinyourhousethatareturnedoff,butarestillpluggedin?

6) Reflectionsofthegroup?Whatdidtheylikeabouttheworkshop?Whatwashard?

7) GivethemaPostSurveyAskthemtofillitoutnow,lettingthemknowthattheycan,iftheywant,beenteredintoaraffleiftheyareokaywithyoucheckinginwiththemagain.Noneoftheirinformationwillbegiventoanyoneelse.Collectsurveys.

8) DistributeGiveawayBagsormaterials(lightbulbs,etc)ifyouhavethem!

0012795.0001*Page 2 of 2

ACCOUNT NUMBERSERVICE ADDRESS DUE DATE

SARAH GOODSPEED 51-0010534274-4 09/11/20153131 14TH AVE SMINNEAPOLIS, MN 55407-1703 STATEMENT NUMBER STATEMENT DATE AMOUNT DUE

468146068 08/14/2015 $32.49

SERVICE ADDRESS: 3131 14TH AVE S MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55407-1703NEXT READ DATE: 09/16/15

ELECTRICITY SERVICE DETAILSPREMISES NUMBER: 303644648INVOICE NUMBER: 0583967314

METER READING INFORMATIONMETER 94065166 Read Dates: 07/15/15 - 08/13/15 (29 Days)DESCRIPTION CURRENT READING PREVIOUS READING USAGETotal Energy 99053 Actual 98893 Actual 160 kWh

ELECTRICITY CHARGES RATE: Residential ServiceDESCRIPTION USAGE UNITS RATE CHARGE

Basic Service Chg $8.00Energy Charge Summer 160 kWh $0.086710 $13.87Fuel Cost Charge 160 kWh $0.027438 $4.39Affordability Chrg $0.71Resource Adjustment $0.43Interim Rate Adj $1.45Subtotal $28.85City Fees 4.50% $1.30Transit Improvement Tax 0.25% $0.07City Tax 0.50% $0.15County Tax 0.15% $0.04State Tax 6.875% $2.08Total $32.49

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR BILLFor a n average residential customer, 56% of your bill refers to power plant costs, 8%to high voltage line costs and 36% to the cost of local wires that are connected to

ALGPBPHMHIBMGKAPHMOGNOOBFCPKAELCCHJGPADMJKyour home. DDLLDDLLLLDLLL

Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy | [email protected] | 612.259.7371 | www.ceed.org

Energy Calculator

Appliance1:___________________ Appliance2:___________________

Appliance3:___________________ Appliance4:___________________

wattsusedbyappliance

× hoursusedperday

× daysusedperyear

÷ 1,000wattstokilowatts

= totalkWhusedperyear

× priceperkWh

= energycostofapplianceperyear


× hoursusedperday

× daysusedperyear



× priceperkWh



× hoursusedperday

× daysusedperyear



× priceperkWh



× hoursusedperday

× daysusedperyear



× priceperkWh



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Appliance WattageCoffeeMaker 1,000Dishwasher 1,800MicrowaveOven 1,500Refrigerator 200StandaloneFreezer 200IncandescentLightbulb 60CompactFlourescentLightbulb 18HairDryer 710ClothesWasher 500ClothesDryer 3,000DesktopPC 75NotebookPC 25ComputerMonitor 42DigitalTelevision 234VideoGameSystem 36Dehumidifier 600SpaceHeater 1,320WaterHeater 4,500Vacuum 542Aquarium 24CeilingFan 75SingleAirConditioner 1,200CentralAirConditioner 3,500

Typical wattages of household appliances: Which of these are your energy hogs?

Source:U.S.DepartmentofEnergy,EnergyEfficiency&RenewableEnergy,ResidentialSectorEnergyConsumption:http://buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov


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Appliance WattageCoffeeMaker 1.14Phonecharger(charged) 2.24Clockradio 2.01Flatscreen(LCD)computermonitor(sleep) 1.38Desktopcomputer(sleep) 21.13Laptopcomputer(charged) 29.48Laptopcomputer(sleep) 15.77Flatscreentelevision(off) 6.97Cablebox(off) 17.83DVR(off) 27.8StereoSystem(ready) 13.99StereoSystem(off) 8.32VideoGameConsole(ready) 23.34VideoGameConsole(off) 1.01DVDPlayer(ready) 9.91DVDPlayer(off) 1.55Subwoofer 10.7CordlessPowerTool(charged) 8.34MicrowaveOven(closed) 3.08Centralheating(off) 4.21Airconditioner 0.9Inkjetmultifunctionprinter(lefton) 9.16Inkjetmultifunctionprinter(off) 5.26Lasermultifunctionprinter(lefton) 49.68Lasermultifunctionprinter(off) 3.12

Average vampire energy drain of household electronics: Power suckers in your home!

Source:U.S.DepartmentofEnergy,LawrenceBerkeleyNationalLaboratory,StandbyPowerSummaryTable:standby.lbl.gov/summary-table.html

facilitation guide: justice in my home electric bills how...

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