About 15 to 30 minutes to do a full bill
estimate. Single questions are quick.
A calculator
A recent electric bill
Using the
Estimator
Use the mouse to move the cursor from box to
box within the spreadsheet.
Enter your use in the column highlighted in
lavender.
Move the cursor to the next box to calculate
the cost.
Highlight and delete mistakes in the
highlighted columns.
Smaller appliances such as clocks, toasters,
and hair dryers are omitted because they are
used a short period of time or do not use much
electricity.
The cost of electricity used in the Estimator
is
6.314cents per kilowatt-hour, the low-cost
of electricity in the City of Loveland.
If the estimate is higher or lower than you
expected, take note of how you are using
electricity for a week. Then, make adjustments
to your estimate. If you are $5.24 higher or
lower than your actual bill, you have made a
good estimate.
Other Estimators
For more detail in an area, other bill estimators
exist to help you compare:
Hours
If you use a ceiling fan eight hours each day,
multiply eight hours by the number of days in
the billing period. For example, eight hours
times 31 days equals 248 hours. Enter 248 in the
highlighted column.
Days
Enter the number of days in the billing period
shown on the electric bill.
Loads Estimate the loads of dishes washed in the
billing period. If you wash dishes two times a
day, multiply 31 times 2 and enter 62 loads in
the highlighted column.
Minutes
If you use the microwave oven 15 minutes each
day, multiply 15 times the days in the billing
period. You would enter 465 minutes for a 31-day
billing period.
Seven Hours
This unit is used only for the Crock-Pot. Enter
the number of times in the billing period that
you cooked a meal using a Crock-Pot.
Lighting This part of the Estimator requires that you
enter more information. Follow this example. MJW
has a fixture with six 25-watt lights that are
on everyday about 4 hours. Enter "6"
in the "Enter Number" column for
25-watt lights. Enter "4" in the
column that says "Enter Hours On".
Next, enter the number of days in the billing
period in the column labeled "Enter Days
Used" Click the mouse in another box and
you will see a cost of $0.99 in the far right
column.
Entertainment Choose the system that is closest to what
you use and enter the number of days in the
billing period. The reason for using the grouped
approach is that metering research was
available.
Appliance
and Electric Bill Estimator
To find out how to save money on your
energy bill with ENERGY STAR® appliances, click on the hyperlinked appliance.
