Electric Cost Calculator

What is an Electric Cost Calculator?

An Electric Cost Calculator is a tool that helps estimate the cost of electricity consumption for various appliances. It takes into account the power rating of an appliance, its usage time, and the electricity rate to calculate daily, monthly, and yearly costs.

The Formula

The basic formula for calculating electricity cost is:

\[Cost = Power \times Time \times Rate\]

Where:

• Cost is in dollars ($)
• Power is in kilowatts (kW)
• Time is in hours (h)
• Rate is in dollars per kilowatt-hour ($/kWh)

Calculation Steps

1. Convert wattage to kilowatts: \[Power_{kW} = \frac{Power_{W}}{1000}\]
2. Calculate energy consumption: \[Energy_{kWh} = Power_{kW} \times Time_{h}\]
3. Calculate cost: \[Cost = Energy_{kWh} \times Rate_{$/kWh}\]

Example

Let's calculate the daily cost for a 100W light bulb used for 5 hours per day, with an electricity rate of $0.12/kWh.

1. \[Power_{kW} = \frac{100W}{1000} = 0.1kW\]
2. \[Energy_{kWh} = 0.1kW \times 5h = 0.5kWh\]
3. \[Cost = 0.5kWh \times $0.12/kWh = $0.06\]

Therefore, the daily cost of running this light bulb is $0.06.

Visual Representation

Here's a graphical representation of how electricity cost increases with usage time for different appliances:

This graph shows how the cost of electricity increases linearly with usage time, and how different appliances with varying power ratings affect the slope of this increase.