Basics of Environmental Engineering 2015 Home assignment #1

Priscila Forte Quintela

NEPTUN CODE: K5Z54P

1) Time frame for investigation

Start date and time: 20 February 2015, 10:30
Finish date and time: 23 March 2015, 10:30
2) Estimate the electric power consumption of my household
Device

Type/Model

Power [W]

Fridge
Washing machine
Computer
Computer
Computer
TV
Lights
Lights
Lights
Lights
Electric cooking
plate
Electric oven
Microwave oven
Dishwasher
Air conditioner

ZLRF 280
IWSC5105
Acer
Vaio
Dell
-

130
1850
65
50
90
212
300
200
150

Average
daily usage
[hours]
24
0,8
8
8
9
8
1
4
1

KOR-8185
Russel Hobbs
19450-56
SC4321
HM6557A

1700
-

0,16
-

400

0,083

0,996

1600
750

0,13
0,13

6,24
2,925
296,601

Blender
Vacuum cleaner
Toaster
Total estimation

Power
consumption for
30 days [kWh]
93,6
44,4
15,6
12
24,3

3) Record the overall electric power consumption of your household

Start figure: 28203 kWh
End figure: 28353 kWh
Consumption: 150 kWh

50,88
9
24
4,5

8,16

4) Evaluate of my estimation
When you turn on an electrical appliance, a lamp, for example, you realize quickly it
heats up. This means that not all the electricity that was supplied to the lamp is turned
into light, because a part was dissipated and transformed into heat by Joule effect. This
fact can be observed in several other appliances, such as electric motors, television,
computer and many others.
In the case of the lamp, the lower the amount of energy dissipated, the greater its
efficiency, since it means that most of the supplied energy is well used and there was
little loss. Likewise occurs with all other devices that require a power source to operate.
So energy efficiency is defined as the ratio between the amount of energy used during
performance of some activities and energy supplied.
It is known that to be traversed by an electric current, resistors make the conversion of
electrical energy into thermal energy by releasing heat and raising its temperature.
Following this line of reasoning the energy found in the house meter did not have the
same value as each device will not work with all his power being part of the energy
used dissipated.