Surely you have ever heard about the electrical power of household appliances, electronic devices, etc. The power of each device is directly related with the amount of electrical energy it consumes and, therefore, the increase in the electricity bill.
If you are tired of not knowing which devices have more power and which less to regulate their use and that the electricity bill reaches you lower, this is your post. Keep reading and you will know everything related to electrical power.
What is electrical power?
Since these terms are explained in the realm of technology, electricity and physics are somewhat complex to explain and have theoretical foundations. However, we are here to offer more affordable content for those who do not understand physics or electricity.
The power is the amount of energy that is produced or consumed for each unit of time. This time can be measured in seconds, minutes, hours, days ... and the power is measured in joules or watts.
The energy that is generated through electrical mechanisms measures the ability to generate work, that is, any type of “effort”. To understand it better, let's put simple examples of work: heating water, moving the blades of a fan, producing air, moving, etc. All this requires work that manages to overcome the opposing forces, forces such as gravity, the force of friction with the ground or air, the temperatures already present in the environment ... and that work is in the form of energy (energy electrical, thermal, mechanical ...).
The relationship established between energy and power is the rate at which energy is consumed. That is, how energy is measured in the joules consumed per unit of time. Each joule consumed per second is one watt (watt), so this is the unit of measurement for power. Since a watt is a very small unit, kilowatts (kW) are typically used. When you see the bill for electricity, appliances and so on, they will come in kW.
What power do we hire and how does it work?
When we call Endesa to contract electricity in our home, we have to choose a certain electrical power that we will use to live. The power that we contract is nothing more than the amount of energy that can be used when we connect electrical appliances. As more power we hire, we can use more devices at the same time without "jumping the leads", but the price of the electricity bill will also increase.
The power contract in a home depends mainly on the number of inhabitants and the electrical needs. For example, if we have an electric water heater or glass ceramic, we will use more electricity than if we have a burner or heater that works with butane. The more electrical appliances we need to connect at the same time, we will need more contracted power and, consequently, it will increase our electricity bill.
What power is the ideal to hire?
Sometimes we do not know what power would be ideal to supply our electrical needs and that the electricity bill does not skyrocket. If you do not know what power you currently have contracted, you can always check it on the electricity bill.
To find out which one you have contracted, try using many electrical appliances at the same time and see if the leads jump or not. If you want to save on your electricity bill, you can try to reduce the contracted power, Although this is not always possible, since if you have high energy needs, as soon as you connect several devices at the same time, you will not be able to use the light, because the leads will jump every time you exceed the consumption.
There are times that more than the power you consume, you must look at how you consume it and in what time interval. Lunch and dinner hours are the times when more energy is consumed, since there are more devices active at the same time. Imagine a house of four people and at dinner time. It is possible that the following devices may be connected at once:
- In the kitchen can be the microwave, the ceramic hob, the oven, the refrigerator and the light.
- In the living room the television and the light.
- In the room a computer and light.
- In the bathroom the light and a heater.
All these devices at the same time can make the leads jump if your contracted power is not very high. How ideal it is the power you hire is below 15 kw.
As mentioned before, it is important that you test your consumption, that is, not the amount of energy you consume, but when and how you consume it. Let's put several situations:
- This time we are going to say that the washing machine is being put in the kitchen and in the meantime, you take advantage of and preheat the oven for dinner while you finish ironing. Let's say the television is on and a light is on.
- In the second situation, let's say that you prefer to finish ironing and finish the clothes in the washing machine to start making dinner. Therefore, the electrical appliances will consume the same energy, but at different times, that is, they will not be connected at the same time.
It is important to know well the hours and the amount of electrical appliances that we connect in the house if we want to optimize the price we pay for the electricity bill to the maximum. It is useless to have a lot of power contracted if not so much energy is consumed, since you will be paying more money in vain.
What appliances have more power?
Surely you have ever heard of the amount of energy consumed by leaving the television on. However, energy consumption is related to the electrical power of each appliance. The devices that consume the most energy and, therefore, have a greater power are: oven, microwave, hob, irons, air conditioning or heating and dryers.
With this information you will be able to know something more about the electrical power and the energy consumed by the appliances in your home in order to better optimize your expenses.