The average American uses about 12,877.72 kWh of electricity per year. This means that the average American household of 2.59 uses 2.59x12,877.72 kWh=3.34x10^4 kWh of electricity per year.
Average electricity use per household is increasing and will continue to increase. The price of electricity remains relatively constant when adjusted for inflation. Average personal income grows, though, even when adjusted for inflation. Thus, the trend will continue, as people will have more money to spend on electricity and so will be able to afford more electricity.
Households (a.k.a. the residential sector) use about 35% of the nation's total electricity production. This is estimated from Rhode Island residential sector electricity usage, which is 26-37% of the state's total annual consumption?
Within each household, energy use is split almost evenly between heating and cooling, water heating, and other appliances (lights, etc.). The average household spends between $800 and $950 per year on energy. Energy use varies substantially between houses, depending upon the local price of electricity. In Corvallis in the 1960s, essentially all energy used in households was electrical.
Power generation by a hydroelectric plant can be estimated by the formula:
POWER (kW) = 5.9 x FLOW x HEAD
FLOW is the volume of water flowing through the turbine, measured in cubic meters per second. HEAD is the height of the water above the turbine, measured in meters. A dam would need a FLOW x HEAD of 5.67x10^3 meters^4 per second to power one household for one year.
The amount of methane required to power a house for a year can be estimated using the approximate energy content of natural gas since natural gas is mostly made up of methane. Natural gas produces 14 kWh per kg when burned in a turbine A house would need about 3.34x10^4 kWh x (1/14)(kg/kWh) = 2.4x10^3 kg of natural gas to be powered for a year. A slightly greater amount of methane would be needed to provide an equal amount of power, since methane yields slightly less energy than natural gas per unit volume. |
