List your appliances and their power consumption in the calculator below. It's important to include every appliance in every room of your home, and light bulbs too (it's easiest to add up all your light bulbs' wattages on paper first and include them as one item in the calculator). If it's on a switch or plugged into an outlet, list it.
Most appliances list the instantaneous Watts they draw somewhere on them - often on the back near where the power cord comes out. But since Watts are the instantaneous draw, it's important to include the hours per day and days per week each appliance is run in order to get the energy the appliance uses in Watt-hours.
When you submit the calculation form, the results will be emailed to the Real Goods Tech Desk and to the email address you provide.
If you can't find Watts listed on an appliance, use the formula:
Watts = Volts x Amps
The easiest way to reduce the cost of a solar PV system is to reduce the load it needs to satisfy. Replacing your light bulbs with LEDs and replacing appliances with non-electric appliances is a great place to start.
Be sure to list ALL your appliances, no matter how small. If it's on a switch or plugged into an outlet, list it.