Calculating Energy Savings
Most (but not necessarily all) EnergyConsumption users are interested in conserving energy.
Graduated billing
Like income taxes, the last kilowatt-hour you use each month often costs more than the first. As such, when you calculate savings it's important to look at the highest amount you're charged every month. With PG&E in northern California, rates start around 11 cents/kWh and go to 35 cents/kWh. The 2006 national average for residential customers (which does not include any "scaled" rates) was 10.4 cents/kWh (jumping nearly a cent from 2005). As a rough estimate, people often use 10 cents/kWh when calculating (need link to some rate schedules).
10 cents/hour means that every 24x365 watt (used by a device you leave on all the time or that never turns off) costs you roughly $1/year. If you have 20 devices each drawing an unneeded 5W 24x365, that's $100!
Compare to 2001 U.S. electricity usage by end usage and the Big Picture.
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