Shower Water and Energy Use Calculator

January 6, 2009 · Filed Under Tools

After making the various calculations for the Shower Saving Tips article, I realized that it would be helpful to have a tool that could easily calculate not only the water use for your shower, but also the energy us. This calculator takes in various sets of inputs including:

Average Shower Time: Enter the amount of time you normally shower.
Shower Head Water Usage: The number of gallons per minute your shower head uses. If you cannot find this value, many shower heads made today use 2.5 gallons per minute.
Water Heater Energy Type: The type of energy you water heater uses. The typical water heater uses either gas or electric.
Water Heater Cost: The cost of one unit of the particular energy type your water heater uses. You can select the state you live in to get the average energy cost for the particular energy type your water heater uses.

Hopefully this calculator helps you determine how much a shower really costs you and the amount you can save by reducing your shower time. Please share your findings with this calculator.

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kWh Energy Savings Calculator

September 2, 2008 · Filed Under Save and Go Green, Tools

After making the various calculations for the Saving Computer Energy article, I realized that it would be helpful to have a tool that could easily calculate kWH and cost values. I searched all over the internet and was not able to find a simple tool that really did what I needed. That why I made this Energy Savings Calculator. It will take in various sets of inputs including:

Normal Energy Use: The amount of watts that a particular device uses during normal use. This also includes how many hours and minutes the device is being used for.
Standby Energy Use: The amount of watts that a particular device uses when plugged in, but not in use. This also includes how many hours and minutes the device is being used for.
Cost: The cost per kWh that electricity costs.

In order to find how many watts a device uses, you can check its manual or look online to find the specs on it. You can even just try searching for the name of the device and the term watts and you should be able to find some information on it. You could also contact the manufacturer as a last resort. To find your energy cost, just look at you monthly electric bill.